Bitter Truths

Sometimes I will see a person walking around and all I can think is, "you ain't got no friends. If you had friends, they wouldn't let you go out dressed like that."

And yet, that person probably does have friends. Those friends are probably too polite to say that nobody should ever go out in public wearing a shirt that is cheetah, jaguar, zebra, and giraffe print, all at once, and in pink. But what that really means is that those people are not real friends. 

Friends have your best interest at heart, and that means telling you bitter truths. Yes, the truth, no matter how much we praise and adore it, is not always pleasant. The truth is sometimes heartbreaking and ego-deflating. The truth keeps you in reality, and reality sometimes sucks. 

When writing about truth, especially when extolling its virtues, be realistic about it. The truth is that it can be a bitter pill to swallow, but that it is far less unpleasant than the results of lying.