by Dawn Hawkins

Created on: March 25, 2009   Last Updated: March 04, 2011

Having nothing to hide is a great thing. Being honest all of the time is a great way to achieve that goal. Most people say they want others to be honest with them. Hurting a little now is better than hurting worse later. Finding out the truth can often be devastating to a person. Do we really want to know everything in the truthful sense?

If you take a close look at honesty, it can have its drawbacks. This doesn't mean just for the person telling it but for the person who is being told. There is such a thing as too honest. We don't need to say everything that is on our mind at all times. In the same token, others don't need to hear complete honesty all of the time.

An example of over stepping the honesty line is when you see someone that has on a horrible outfit. You wouldn't dress you dog in that shirt and it is killing you not to tell the person just what you think of it. It isn't really necessary to tell someone that you hate something he/she is wearing. That borders on mean and malicious behavior. In this case, most people don't need or want to hear the truth. After all, this fact isn't a fact at all, it is simply your opinion.

The truth can be a very painful thing. We will find ourselves repeating words such as "I wish I didn't know" many times in our lives. Unfortunately, dealing with the truth is a part of growing and learning. It is essential to becoming the people that we are.

What we really don't care for is the feeling that hearing the truth sometimes gives us. We do want to hear the truth no matter how bad it is. Honesty is what gets us moving into a new life or a new way of doing things. It creates and encourages change for the better.

Having someone be totally upfront with us can be embarrassing as well. Our faces turn blood red at times because someone brought out an embarrassing fact about ourselves. A great example of this is when we drink alcohol. Many embarrassing moments happen when we have tipped the bottle one too many times. It is then that someone has ammunition against us. They will bring it out at the most inopportune moments. This could be a case such as your best friend telling a new love interest "She got really blasted last night and flashed the entire bar." That is not a truth that you would want everyone to know. It might be a fact, but does it really need to be repeated?

Not knowing the truth would make life far less stressful. Not knowing that atrocities go on every day throughout the world would be nice. How sheltered do we really want our lives to be though? Personally, if I never heard another story about child abuse or murder, that would be good enough for me. The fact is, these things happen. If we don't know about them, there is no way of fixing the problem. Putting a stop to things such as these acts can only happen when we know the truth.

Yes, we really do want to know the truth. The truth is what changes the world. It might be sick and disgusting at times. It might be enough to make your toes curl and your hair stand on end but it's a necessary evil at times.

It is said that the truth shall set you free. This is an accurate description. Although it sometimes changes our lives in a bad way, it will eventually turn into something wonderful. That's the best we can hope for.

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