Denial, oblivion, the bliss of ignorance, they’re easier to handle than the truth. These days no one seems to preach that “honesty is the best policy” (except maybe fortune cookies and grandmothers) — we all seem to want to settle for less commitment, less vulnerability. So, we lie. We lie to ourselves, to each other, filtering, repressing and ultimately presenting an inauthentic version of ourselves to the word. Oddly enough, we are aware that what we are doing is unhealthy and rather idiotic, but it feels safer than taking a leap of faith and exposing our thoughts to the world, right?
This is answer is, of course, a vehement no. But, easier said than done. Breaking the truth to yourself can feel utterly refreshing, but it also open the door to different scenarios and outcomes you hadn’t even consider in the first place. Doubts rise and create an enormous lump in your throat, you feel that pit in your stomach and you feel the fear of failure and rejection slowly permeating your each and every thought. Surrendering to denial begins to sound tempting, but only a coward would do this.
Free falling after taking a risk is much more commendable than never addressing the issue. Free falling means you actually had the guts to believe in the 50 percent chance that things would work out — it means that for a brief (and perhaps ephemeral) moment you trusted your instincts instead of the statistics. It’s good to wage your options, and, to be fair, there are risk that are more of a liability than a reward. But thinking that denial or passivity is a better answer than taking action is purely ludicrous. It just means you always end up stuck in a limbo, paralyzed and unsure.
As the end of year approaches, face denial.
HC Love,
Luisa & Haruka Â