Lies are Like Mice

Left unchecked – they cause a plague.

My sons live in a very cool apartment – 1600 square feet – huge with two bedrooms, high ceilings, a big kitchen and a great address – if you are up and coming musicians. The only thing is it is over a restaurant – which is great if you like to party after hours – but not so good if you’d rather not deal with mice and various other nefarious creatures from time to time – notwithstanding the landlord’s claims to the contrary!

But mice are little and innocuous and kinda cute when they skitter as the lights go on. And if you’ve been raised to love nature in its wholeness you kind of have an aversion to snapping their little necks in a trap set with cheese (or peanut butter for the more savvy).

My sons were loathe to kill the little things so I told them a story. Years ago when their dad and I lived on a farm in Port Hope we had a similar challenge. It was a magnificent stone house – one of five by Scottish brothers who had immigrated in the late 1800′s. One day we saw a little mouse sprint under the cupboards into the back pantry under the stairs. “Ahhh,” I said – “don’t kill it.”

Not many weeks later, an unmistakable odour emanated from the pantry. No longer did the little darlings skitter when the lights came on. They had become bold and saucy and stared us down. That was it! We bought a dozen traps. This was our house after all – not theirs. What we soon discovered was that when you see one or two – there are ten or twelve below decks. And being the bottom rung along with rabbits of the ever in demand food chain, well, don’t they just multiply like ….. rabbits.

I was squeamish but nevertheless, twelve traps were set in the pantry under the stairs one night before bedtime. We were kept awake with SNAP! SNAP! SNAPSNAPSNAP!! For several days we had a virtual slaughter. We felt terrible for killing, but eventually the odour subsided and our pantry was no longer the toilet of vermin, our rice wasn’t intermixed with dark lookalikes and we were once again at peace.

I share this story because lies are like mice. Especially the little ones. My dad used to say: “if someone will lie about the little things – then for sure they will lie about the big things.” But somehow we don’t live like we know that. We let little transgressions go by – because we don’t want people to think we don’t trust them. We let little ones go by because we can’t imagine that someone would lie to us. We let little ones go by because – well, why make a big deal of a small issue?

Why indeed? We know the little lies are there breeding under the floorboards – but what the heck? We’ll deal with it later. But history has taught us that unchecked breeding of vermin results in the plague – and isn’t that exactly what we are witnessing on a global level? A plague that wipes out truth. A plague that wipes out trust. A plague that wipes out creativity and freedom. A plague that wipes out credit, homes, life savings. A plague of lies that is global and threatening and suffocating and frightening in its immensity.

And who do we blame? You got it – THEM! They did it. They stole, they lied, they cheated, they were rich while we were poor. They were powerful while we were weak! But is that true – absolutely?

Look again. Then ask yourself – what is truth? What is honesty? What is the difference and why is it important?

There is only one truth – and that is your own. Shakespeare (or whoever) said it, “To thine own self (Higher Self) be true.” Aligning with our personal truth is aligning with our creator. Each of us is singular and unique. We are a composite of influences – body mind and spirit within the construct of family, environment and society. Many of us, somewhere along the line didn’t feel that being just who we are is good enough so we discover the little lie: “I am not good enough.”

The spark of unconditional love and infinite possibility which is our true nature gets obscured by the expectations or pronouncements of others and we confuse the lie for the truth. In order to belong and be liked or be rich or be powerful, we engage in this collective lie: “It’s only a lie if we get caught.”

Those of us who either hear the whisper of our true nature, or through some experience that shatters the lie, claim our truth and snap out of it. And there we are rubbing the veils from our eyes and seeing people around us for the first time. The first shock is seeing our own complicity. We have agreed to lie to one another. “I will accept your insincerity as long as you praise me.” “I will overlook your actions against another as long so it is not against me.” “When I see injustice, I will bow my head until it goes away.”

Once you awaken though, you are no longer at liberty to be tied up in the collective lie. But – here’s the kicker – you can’t just turn your back on it either. The plague grows unchecked and spreads into the hearts and souls of us all if we don’t stop and face it squarely – one lie at a time. First check the lies you tell yourself. Then check the lies you allow those close to you to tell you. It will startle you when the masks fall. You will blush at the weave of agreements you made along the way.

Standing in your truth is not socially correct, by the way. It makes people feel uncomfortable. And sometimes you have to shout the truth to be heard over the gaggle of lies. We sometimes confuse the spiritual path with the path of non action. But some of us – make that – all of us – are called to be spiritual warriors at some time or another – whether we act on it or not. For me the image of Archangel Michael with the sword of sapphire fire has my back.

The other little caveat that needs to be said clearly, is that like any rat cornered, the one who you face with their own lies will attack. It is, after all, the struggle for survival. I never really understood Nietzsche’s ‘will to power’ until writing this piece. I guess I equated power with force and I never wanted to be an overlord. But what I unequivocally understand is that if we do not exert our power for what is beneficial, then those who act out of self interest will exert their power to dominate.

You have no control over what others will say about you and you have no control over what people may believe about you. All you have is all you’ve ever done and stood for and judgment upon that is most stringent by your own highest nature. There is no win or lose, good or bad, right or wrong. There is only you being true to yourself.

Our true survival past fear, past anger, past manipulation is through expressing our Highest Self. Each of us is a higher being and each of us has a choice about whether we express our light or our dark – our love or our pain. We are all free to act and if those of us who have awakened to this reality act in light then the one in the corner will have another opportunity for choice. If they choose to continue in the lie, they relegate themselves to the ways of the lie which are spite, anger and fear. This point is the most difficult for me not to slip into the drama – the lure is very strong to be the victim, the injured, the unloved. Sometimes you need to be reminded who you truly are to stay strong and clear.

The world you knew will probably topple and you will find yourself standing in the middle of a cloud of dust and a heap of rubble. I know I did. The fallout is seismic and effects everyone around you. If you agree with some of the precepts of energy medicine, then you will understand that a shift to truth, like falling dominoes – will not only affect this world but will reach forward and back through time and space, correcting patterns and dysfunctions for generations.

Why would anyone want to pull their familiar world down around their feet? Because the soul wants a clear view and when the view is unobstructed your vantage point is 360 degrees. Not only will you see – but you will no longer be obscured from others who seek the truth.  That is exhilarating but also scary in a way. In which direction do you step out into your future? Well, toward the truth.

And what is the overriding cosmic truth? That love is all there is. The corollary truth? What we do to one we do to everyone. If we lie to ourselves we create a world of deceit. If we love ourselves we create a world of peace.

With Love,
Marilyn