"We of the Fianna never told a lie. Falsehood was never attributed to them. But by truth and the strength of our hands, we came safe out of every combat."
___ "Ladoidh Chunaic an Air," anon. Irish poem
The Fianna (FEE'enn-a) was the prestigious war band of the hero Fionn mac Cumhail, whose honor was bound up in their maintenance of truth, as their motto says: "Truth in our hearts, strength in our hands, consistency upon our tongues."
If we divert the truth in pursuit of our ambitions, however marginal the lie, we also divert the course of our honor; we weaken our soul's thread. It is often easier to lie than to admit the truth. To state our honest objections, to cut across the dishonesty of those with whom we associate, to challenge falsehood in the workplace or in high places may seem a kind of foolhardiness today.
The practice of honesty is a daily exercise that hones our integrity in both trivial and important actions, the experienced truth-bearer is like a hero who has practiced her sword strokes so many times that she can cleave through thistledown with accuracy and perception.
The integrity of truth offers a clean way of dealing in our lives - a way of dealing that sets down better and more honorable patterns upon which our society can be reformed.
"Try to tell the truth for twenty-four hours. Feel in your body how living honestly changes your life's experience. If your life is wholly or partially built on lies, begin to examine the scaffolding on which it is based: ask help of your spiritual allies to discover how the scaffolding can be dismantled, and how you can become true to your soul's thread."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
I do love this post. Having learned the hard way about lies, even little ones, I try to follow that particular maxim....Truth creates honor...
ReplyDeleteSadly, it makes life harder in some ways. Far too many people lie to simply get on with life.