I have been thinking a lot about my last posting and the overall topic of truth, lies, and deception. What happens when we are lied to? When we lie to ourselves? When we lie to another person? When we believe our own lies or someone else's lies? The poem was my first attempt to describe the internal experience, and after I wrote it I remembered one of my favorite essays ever written on this topic, Women and Honor: Some Notes on Lying by Adrienne Rich.
More recently, on his blog BEING DARING, Renata Razza wrote recently about excuses, which are akin to lies:
http://beingdaring.com/2010/09/7-excuses/
Here are a few examples of lies we tell ourselves:
I can take care of myself
I can't take care of myself
I'm fine
I'll have just one….
I'll never leave you
You'll never leave me
I can't meditate
I don't need help from anyone
I'll live forever
What are some others you can think of?
"Lying is done with words, and also with silence."
–Adrienne Rich