As is usual on many Fridays, I was on the bus from Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur to Novena, Singapore. The weather was bleak and the short thunderstorm caused a flash flood in Bangsar. Fortunately, I had a driver yesterday and he managed to avoid the knee-deep water. The water receded after 20 minutes and the bus left promptly at 2.30 pm.
The sun was shining again after the heavy rains.
As I traversed the bottom length of the peninsula, I saw how the weather changed from grey skies to clear blue sky with the sun shining.
It is a long journey covering about 380 kms. I usually spend my time enjoying the scenery. It’s cheap entertainment but so good for the soul. If it's too hot, I sometimes draw the nice grey curtains and watch a movie. Sometimes I sleep or catch up on some reading. Occasionally I use my laptop. I mean really as a laptop. There's no table so it sits on my lap and measures up to its name.
These days, thanks to my Blackberry, my friends keep me company all through the journey. I'm never lonely. They send wishes for a safe trip. They comment and joke and I smile quietly. Technology can be so kind to those who know how to use it.
Since I travel so often, I've watched all the movies that are available on the bus. We each have our own small TV screen and there are more than 50 movies to choose. I haven't been browsing the choices lately because there are hardly any new shows now. Today, I just checked and found the documentary by Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth. I'd seen it before so I let it run, without the volume.
It's about global warming but it set me down a different path. Actually, the title got me thinking about how the truth is inconvenient. I guess it is the main reason why people lie.
Of late, I'd been spending way too much time wondering about the lies that people tell. I believe that this springs from not being able to face the truth. So they make up stories, moving on and beyond the boundaries of courtesy.
These pathetic liars need to get a life. I'm sure if you are reading this, you might feel that you do know someone like this. How often have you felt helpless against the backdrop of such a network of deceit? I've felt despair too but never for too long.
You ask why? What do I do? Actually nothing!
My life is full of goodness. When your plate is full of good stuff, it's not difficult to push aside the people made of bad stuff. The sad thing is that they don't even know it.
Al Gore really got me thinking again, not only about global warming but also about the people, out there, who can't stomach the inconvenient truth. In their minds, the truth is inconvenient.
Should I pity them? Yes.
some pics from photobucket
4 comments:
Interesting topic. I've never thought about it but now that u mentioned it, why do we cover up our blemishes, scars and wrinkles with makeup if not to show other people a picture of what we're not? Do people really tell the truth when they behave modestly? What about when they give praise, when they encourage the sick or dying, when they say "I'm fine" when they're really not. What about luring a stubborn child out of a burning house by telling him there's toys or ice cream outside when there's none.
It invites another question. How 'normal' can life be without embellishments. If honesty is the best policy, then why do people sometimes behave like its not, like when being polite is more 'proper' than being brutally honest. Would everyone beat their competitors to a job, get a raise, get a date, avoid the traffic summons if they didn't withhold those little facts that might scuttle the deal? Are white lies okay becoz they supposedly don't hurt anyone?
I agree, truths can be inconvenient, some more than others and now that I think about it, could it be that as a species, people are conditioned to lie? All those little white lies, the cosmetic surgery and what not, what do they say about us?
Hmm... more thoughts coming. I think this merits a blog post on its own! :-)
Anyway, my stand is, honesty is not only better, its easier. You don't have to remember the stories you tell.
Johan,
I think I could accept the superficial greetings for courtesy sake. However, when tall tales are told, the web of deceit grows and develops a life of its own.
I remember these sayings
"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when we first practise to deceive".
It's so true.
Another one is
Lies are easy to believe if they are what you wish were true.
The last one that comes to mind is
A lie takes care of the present, but not the future.
I agree with you that honesty is not only better, it is also easier. Very often, the people who lie forget and it sometimes comes back to bite them in the butt! :)
I know someone who lies. But I doubt she does it consciously. It just happens. She starts with a story, and embellishes it in the telling, and it grows and grows and grows. I do believe she has a good time doing this.
And then it comes back to bite her in the bum. What does she do? Right to your face she'll tell you that she never said it. Yes, 'never'.
So, does it mean your ears played tricks on you? That you heard something from her lips that she did not say?
What do you do?
I am beyond truth and lies. I just want to be left alone - without either. (grammar-less, but that's how I feel :(
Pat,
I get your point and I agree that people who lie actually have a good time doing it. They get some perverted sense of pleasure.
Isn't it just wishful thinking to have nothing to do with the person? Big sigh.
Hugs for you and hope you feel better!
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