To tell you the truth, I had to be a bit crafty about posting this drawing on Facebook.
Hide and Seek
Do you seek to hide who you are, what you do, what you think? What are the consequences of that? For one, you are protected from having something bad found out, right? Maybe it’s an affair, or spending money on something you shouldn’t, maybe it’s an addiction, or maybe it’s simply hiding what you believe from those who would disapprove. But in all those cases, you have rationalized that it’s important to lie, to be crafty, about what you let people know. It’s for self-preservation after all, right?
Breaking Bad
Recently we started watching the TV series ‘Breaking Bad’. It’s the story of a high school chemistry teacher who becomes a Crystal Meth manufacturer and distributer. He ‘breaks bad’ in a big, big way. The most intense and educational part of the show for me is how he works so hard to hide what it is he is doing from his wife and family. He has good reasons of course, after all is brother in law is a DEA agent, his wife is expecting a baby and his teenage son has Cerebral Palsy. But the price he pays for hiding it all is so immense in both his family life, health and his psyche, that it is painful to watch.
Crafty Manipulation
I have done my own share of crafty manipulation over the decades. I came from an alcoholic mother and father who hid a lot. I developed some of the very same techniques even after I stopped drinking almost 20 years ago. In the past year I have made some rather amazing breakthroughs in that area and it’s felt pretty darn good. My wife and I both have moved to be much more willing to just say the truth and be done with it. I feel much freer and at ease as a result.
Be a Stripper
I don’t know your situation of course, but you might consider being a stripper. Strippin down to tell the truth about who you are, what you do (and why you think you do it) and what you want and need in life. It’s not easy and it could have some serious consequences so it’s not to be done lightly if you do indeed have some secrets. Perhaps you just start with telling the mirror. Even that is liberating, I can tell you that. It is a journey and it’s ok if you aren’t naked right away, but stripping off some false fronts isn’t beyond your capability, and it is a start.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Anonymous
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Trivia of the day
- Number of alcoholic liver disease deaths: 15,183 (2009)
- Number of alcohol-induced deaths, excluding accidents and homicides: 24,518 (2009)
Deep thoughts tonight, Marty, I like that. Quitting drinking was one of the best decisions of my life. Feb 1984 shall be forever remembered as the month of good choices. Moved from NoCal where I knew no one back to Key West where I knew everyone and quit drinking on the plane on the way home. A lot changed with that. And even more when I turned fifty a few years back; that was another huge turning point. Wisdom, experience and knowledge came together for me, as it does for lots of people I have seen.
Hey Lynda, congrats on that long ago choice. It’s amazing how petrified people are of making the change to truth before they do it and how liberated and great they feel after they do it. It does take courage but it is worth it. Thanks for telling us your story.