Relationships

Honesty Relationships and Love

Have you ever been hurt in a relationship when the truth was distorted, and you became aware of the lies told to you by someone you thought you could trust? Almost all people have been hurt at some point because of a secret, distorted truth, a lie and/or many lies that were discovered. Lies and distorted truth undermines the relationship and it hurts us emotionally and in other manifestations. Undermining a relationship breaks trust and is the opposite of real intimacy found in a honest relationship. The significance in having an honest relationship opposed to a dishonest relationship is the exclusive feeling of security in the fact that you know the other person and are known by them in turn. When lies or distorted truth become part of the relationship, doubts about that person surface and one no longer feels totally safe in that particular relationship.

Essential in Relationships

Trust is very essential in a relationship. It is one of the core ingredients that keeps a relationship secure and warm. When there is no honesty, trust cannot be genuine nor real. When one trusts someone based on what they know about that person and that knowledge is based upon what is told to them, what is told could be false. Many people are in relationships where they trust each other, but one of them isn’t “keeping it real”, so they have their partner believing a bunch of lies and trusting in nothing but lies.

Is Being Honest Easy?

If being honest were always easy, we would all do it every second of the day and night. These are reasons why honesty is so important in each relationship:

Living one’s life with honesty on a daily basis improves relationships and saves us from having to live a lie. Lies very rarely allow for just one or two to be told. Lies spiral out of control to cover up for the one previously told creating confusion for the one telling the lie and also those who hear the lies. Do you realize living a lie is hard work, much harder than just simply telling the truth? Living a lie and telling lies mean not being yourself or enjoying relationships. That is not comfortable for anyone. I believe most would agree being honest about difficult situations may be uncomfortable at first. Work through it with honesty, and the relationship is strengthened, trust is built and love is deepened.

Stronger Foundations in Relationships

Honesty in a relationship provides a strong foundation for a lasting or enjoyable relationship, whether with a family member, friend or romantic interest. Honesty is a strong sensitive voice for love that builds trust. Without honesty in a relationship, the words ‘I love you’ become a lie in itself and there’s no real security in the relationship.

When the truth is missing, some people may try to guess exactly what is the truth in various situations. Failing to be honest about something causes people to try and figure out what is not being said, or what the truth actually is. These actions can cause many negative results such as gossip, which can then foster more lies and deception that other people may mistake as truth. Finally, this causes many more people to feel hurt and betrayed when the truth is finally revealed, all of which could be avoided if honesty were present in the beginning.

Remember, Remember, Remember!

It is important to remember people cannot read your mind. So do not expect someone to read your mind. It is humanly impossibly to be accurate with such an undertaking. It is so important to be honest and share your feelings with those in a relationship. Honesty means telling the truth about factual information, and about the way you are feeling. If you were hurt by something someone said or did, they may not even realize they hurt you by what they said or by their actions unless you are honest with them about how it affected you. Hiding one’s hurt feelings might make one feel safe. Unfortunately, by hiding hurt feelings it can also disempower others in a relationship from doing something positive to correct the hurtful problem. Hiding one’s feelings does not help a relationship to be nurtured and grow stronger with love. Various things can grow until the relationship is clearly damaged. Being honest about your feelings can bring healing, solve a problem, renew hope and foster good communication.

Do Not Be Afraid…

Some people lie merely due to being afraid the truth will get them in trouble or cause another dreadful pain. Of course, the truth can be painful, it is still usually less painful when delivered honestly than when it is wrapped in deception. Withholding the truth, or lying to cover it only causes people to feel betrayed as well as very hurt. Being dishonest will cause someone to question why you were not honest with them in the beginning. The best relationships are the ones with honesty. You may experience awkward confrontations and difficult talks with maintaining honesty in your relationships, although being honest also means better relationships with others and with yourself.

Thank you,

Hope for Children Foundation wishes you the happiness of having honesty in your relationships. In addition, we especially want to wish you a Happy Father’s Day weekend to Everyone!