Faux pearls

Like Jim Carrey in Liar, Liar,

What if we had to tell the truth,

every time we wrote,

instead of every time we spoke? 

Too many boasts 

in our Facebook posts,

flipped on their head,

just might make us turn red.

Trying some honesty on for size,

rather than flattering little white lies,

would look a little like this,

for me.

What happened:

Made myself run three miles without walking,

dried my sweat with a kitchen towel,

then ate a plate of seven-layer dip.

What I wrote:

Feeling awesome after my five mile run! 

What happened:

Woke up at 4:00 a.m. and tossed and turned for three hours,

mulling over inanities.

What I wrote:

Woke up to meditate during the amrit vela. Set a beautiful tone for the day! 

What happened:

Sat in church and tried to ignore the crayons my kids kept dropping under the pews,

holding my breath as they punched each other,

looking at the floor or bowing my head in false piety when congregants stared.

Studied everyone's slumped shoulders during the sermon, picking up about half of the message.

What I wrote:

So inspired after service today! Feeling bolstered by spiritual community! 

We need to embellish and rework our experience,

pulling the pearls from the oyster shells of the mundane,

holding our stories up to the light and clearing off the smudge.

It's up to us to create our own narratives, and tell them to ourselves.

How true they are isn't all that important,

unless it's a medical emergency. 

Then it should be factual. 

Brutal honesty with ourselves and others is often neither pleasant nor all that useful.