The Truth about Lies

The other day while conversing with a friend I learnt his rather interesting theory about the thing simply known to us as the truth. Generally speaking the meaning of the word extends from honesty to good faith to basic agreement with fact and reality. It has no single definition and you could be darn right that in this very day and age perhaps the word doesn't mean anything. Everyone from Plato to Charlie Brown continue to debate the basic theory of truth. Keeping in mind the rather subjective and relative scope of the word, my friend suggested that it's just a matter of perception that decides weather you'd be the one subjected to abject truth or be a victim of blatant lies.

The words got my attention. Anything to do with truth, lies and everything in between manages to get me. He then was bold enough to augment his claim. I was game. He asked me what are the chances of some one lying. I looked around and saw a motley crew of people in the market place where we were having this tête-à-tête over a cup of take-away coffee. I had my answer. Dodging the smoke from his cigarette, I braved that the number of people lying would be very high, yes. He smiled. I knew he had some thing up his sleeve. He said when a person lies to someone, by virtue of hiding some vital information from the person they just lied to, the people who lie need to tell the truth about that lie to someone.

So what does that really mean?

It means that the chances of people feeding you lies are as good as someone telling you the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth. It set me thinking. So let me get this straight- for every one lie I endure, I have to deal with a truth as well. And we all know the thing about truth. It can be ugly. It can hurt. Wow. I think I never saw it that way. The forces of equality are omnipresent in nature, AKA Ying & Yang Inc. work their magic everywhere.

That's when the truth decided to attack me. If the balance exists then where is my fair share of the opposite? I work hard, I tolerate non-sense and delays of all sorts, I endure people (no offence meant to anyone in particular) and yet I don't get enough. Yeah. I know. You'd be saying, There he goes again...pissin' and moanin' about money and everything!' It's only fair considering that, I believe, brothers Ying & Yang are killing me here.

Once I digested this bitter pill, I realized it wasn't that bad after all. I could live with it that. I could make peace with the fact that maybe I am not getting enough in return. Perhaps I need to carry on the good work and one day, some day, if the Bhagvad Gita is right, I shall be rewarded.

Then the nasty old foe called Truth decided to try me again.

What if this is exactly what I deserve? What if what I'm getting is just what's been cut out for me? What if this is really as good as it would get? There is still some time before my brain learns that...imagine how surprised the little people who run brain would be when they get to know that the bonus I promised won't be coming after all.

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