Our ability to be honest and our level of honesty greatly impacts our happiness. Honesty is much more than simply not telling lies. There are many levels of honesty, some which we are capable of seeing and some which we are not. The levels of honesty that we do not recognize are a result of our denial or lack of awareness. This post will be geared more towards the basic levels of honesty upon which we can make immediate improvements.
Let’s get right to it… stop lying to others. We all lie but that doesn’t mean it’s beneficial. This is one of the simplest forms of honesty, not necessarily the easiest though. Make a conscious decision not to lie to others. Now listen carefully, if you cheated on your wife or husband seven years ago, I am not telling you to run home and tell them. I am also not suggesting that you don’t. However, for situations such as this and the like, perhaps you should think long and hard about how to handle them. Speaking to a therapist, priest or getting anonymous help in an online forum or help site such as this, may prove beneficial as well.
Perhaps an even simpler form of honesty which we can immediately practice is to be sure not to take what is not yours. This is called cash register honesty. Some examples of this type of honesty would include returning a wallet that you found, telling the cashier that he/she gave you too much change or returning that cd that someone left in your car. When you find yourself in a situation where you can choose not to take or you can choose to return, what is not yours, be honest and do what is right.
On a bit of a deeper level, we all lie to ourselves at times. There are so many layers of honesty that it’s not possible to be 100% percent honest with ourselves all of the time. We may think we are being honest with ourselves about a situation only to later realize that we were not being honest at the time or in other words, we were in denial. So much of our happiness is related to our decision making and actions and how we live our lives. So, when we are not seeing ourselves or our situations for what they truly are we cannot make right decisions which will result in wrong actions, which will negatively impact our happiness, as happiness naturally develops as a result of right living.
Do your best to take an honest look at your thoughts and motives before acting in all situations. If you can begin to live from a place of honesty, knowing that all you say and do is true and honest, you will increase your self-respect and self-worth thereby making it much easier to be happy and at peace. This type of personal growth does not happen instantly. I would suspect that you will gradually become more honest with yourself and others as you gain insight and awareness. Many of the posts on this site and other appropriate spiritual and psychological practices in general, help us to increase our self-awareness and levels of honesty. The point is that becoming more aware, honest and happy with ourselves is a process. I wish you well.
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