many years ago,
the rebbe pulled me aside
and told me he wanted me to understand
the difference between being honest and being truthful.
i was perplexed.
but he continued saying,
“what does it mean to be honest?”
to explain, he shared with me the following story.
“a man was away all day at work and when he came home, he told his wife
i thought about you almost every moment of the day
except for about 20 seconds when this beautiful woman walked by.
she was gorgeous and i couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
what do you think his wife heard?
do you think she heard that for 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 40 seconds
all he could do was think of her.
or do you think she heard the 20 seconds?.
the 20 seconds, right?
well that is what happens when we are only truthful.
honesty is that he come home and says,
“baby, i love you so much,
i thought about you almost every moment of the day today
and the thought of you made me so happy.”
what do you think his wife feels now?
perhaps it is because i have been truthful so much in my life
that this story hit home.
why do we spend so much of our time thinking only of the 20 seconds?
i used to judge a whole religion, because of a few.
i would look in the mirror and see my flaws rather than my strengths
i remember vividly the moments i made a mistake,
rather than the life that i have lived gloriously.
do you do this too?
if so, you must get yourself a BeKind2U Bracelet
and do the @1 Day BeKind2U Challenge (see that page on my website)
here is my promise to myself
and because we are all connected in the beautiful mosaic of life
here is my promise to you as well.
i will be honest with myself rather that truthful
i will allow all of my moments to make up my present
i will see the beauty of the whole rather the broken pieces that make up the mosaic
when we meditate on mondays together at 5:55pm California Time
let’s remember our world is amazingly beautiful
and the vast, vast, vast majority of the people living here
are kind and loving and want to live in peace.
when we pray for each other
lets pray that we see each other honestly
not the 20 seconds
but the 23 hours, 59 minutes, 40 seconds
that make up who we are on a day to day basis.
we are all one mosaic,
one exquisite piece of art
made up of all of our moments
what will we focus on,
the necessary parts on the mosaic that are filled with darkness
or the totality of the mosaic that makes us light.
i know which one i choose. how about you?