truth will set you free

Dear Son,

I know I talk a lot about self honesty. I tend to harp on that a lot. Honesty in general I feel is very important. Lies run away on you. One lie leads to another, then another and so on. It is so much easier to be honest and deal with the result. Its not always easiest at the moment, but in the long run it is much easier. Self honesty is harder, but the value of it is more than I could ever put into words. We all want to avoid painful feelings such as shame and guilt, so sometimes we delude our self or avoid things that cause us to feel this way. But it is so important to be honest with yourself. To take an honest look at your thoughts and actions. If you find yourself thinking and acting in a way that causes suffering, then it is much easier to change these things if you pay attention to them. Awareness is the key, it has great power, and that power can only be gained by honest self reflection. Not judgement, but reflection. I do not believe in right or wrong really, I do believe in suffering and liberation. Behavior that causes suffering is just that, actions that cause us or others pain. Self honesty can help us to turn those things into liberation, or acts that free us from suffering.

I am not going to say that because I am self aware I do not suffer. I can say however that I have a pretty good idea of what is at the root of my suffering and I work everyday to become more and more liberated.

I feel very strongly that action follow thought. So if you want to be an honest person it makes sense that you begin being honest with yourself. Thoughts that are honest lead to actions that are honest. You helped me with that so much, it was so very important to me not to ever lie to you. I tried very hard to always tell you the truth, even if it wasn't pleasant. I felt you deserved that and felt a certain responsibility to teach you honesty. I hope that I was true to my word.

It may seem like you may need to lie to fit in, or appease those around you at times. In those times it is so very important to hold on to your self honesty, to hold it strongly in your heart. I can not stress enough how damaging it is to let someone else's lie become your truth. So as you grow and nod your head in agreement, on the inside ask yourself if this is true for you? Is this true at all? Don't concern yourself with their honesty, only with your own. If nothing else it is far easier to keep your story straight if its the truth, much easier than remembering who you told what lie to.

I love you son

Caleb Storms