We can't be perfect, no matter how hard we try. We can't always get straight A's, have good hair days, or be everything to everyone. We can't read minds, predict the future or prevent pain or disaster.
What we can do, is far more important than any of those things. We can always tell the truth.
We have to learn that there is no life in lies, they don't solve problems, they only create them. Being honest with ourselves and those we love is probably the best gift we could ever give or receive.
We all mess up, and sometimes those mess-ups are huge, monumental, my(his/her/their) life will never be the same kind of mess ups. We do STUPID STUPID things. Most of the time it's because we're overwhelmed or backed into a corner but the easy way out just causes disaster. In hind sight, these decisions are easy to make, but we wouldn't have made the wrong ones if we knew better. Unfortunately the only way to learn a lot of lessons in life is to learn them by making mistakes.
This doesn't give us permission to be superstar-screw ups, but it does give us wiggle room if we choose to make the most of it. No matter how bad we mess-up, telling the truth about what we've done, owning our mistakes, is like sucking the venom out of the wound. Yes, the scar is still there, yes people will still see the consequences of our actions and ask about what happened, but when we tell the truth we are freed from the venomous lies pulsing through our veins day in and day out.
When we release ourselves from guilt, when we let our shame go, we are free to grow.
It doesn't make us weak to admit our faults, in fact it means we're stronger. It means we're big enough to know better and to own our actions so that we can learn from them. If we cover our mistakes with lies we're bound to repeat them over and over again. Just like when we were little, if we could get away with something without getting caught we'd keep doing it, but the fear of getting caught and the guilt of knowing that we did something wrong tore at our guts until, bawling we would fess up to our parents.
Hiding sucks. Because when we have to hide we are alone, in the darkness, with no one to turn to and nothing to do but wait to get found. Some may never get found, they'll vacate their genius hiding spot before anyone can find them, but eventually someone else will discover that hiding spot and they'll have to figure out a new plan. They are only so many hiding spots in one location.
