Honesty

It is very hard in life to decipher who are your friends, who is really there for you, who is truly honest. I am a very bad phony; I wear my heart on my sleeve. If I like you, I will be your best friend in the world and do anything for you, but if you cross me. ... Let's not go there. I understand in life that sometimes you have to give a little "white lie" – there are times you do not have to tell the truth because it will hurt somebody's feelings.

If your friend asks you if you like her shoes (you think they are really ugly), why hurt her feelings? That is of course if she is going to embarrass herself – then you really should tell her the truth, but if not, keep your mouth shut and smile – it is way easier.

In life you should try to be honest and decisive, when you give your word to somebody, you really should keep it. I listen to the older men that I have come to respect in my life, they shake your hand and give you their word. They have integrity and whether you agree with them or not, you know they will stick by their word. Now, granted, I may not always agree with what they are saying, but at least I know that they are telling me the plain truth. I have more respect for a man who tells me he hates me to my face than one who stabs me in the back. If I shake your hand, you have my word. Period. No indecisiveness, no back stabbing – just saying what you truly believe what is right and what is wrong. It is called integrity, which means, "adherence to moral principles; honesty."

So, I go back to my original question, how do you know who you can trust and who you cannot? The plain and simple truth is you can never really tell. I know people whose best friends have hurt them; sister's who have slept with their own sister's husband, friends who leave you during a traumatic experience when you need them the most. I guess you have to base your answer on time.

Look at your life and the people in it and say to yourself, "we are all human, we all make mistakes, we all lie at some point of time, yet do we do things out of maliciousness?" I base my life on looking at people's track records. I understand that my friends and family make mistakes, yet when I see somebody who really hurts me badly or continuously, I choose to remove them from my life. I push the delete button ... remove them from my phone, my email list, my Facebook page... then I treat them like they no longer exist.

I do not find room in life for back stabbers or liars. Life is filled with so many great and wonderful people; I gravitate towards the good ones... and simply delete the bad ones. Sounds easy? Not... You never can tell when you will be stabbed in the back... but do not despair, most people are genuinely good people. So enjoy your family and friends, live your life with happiness- and always keep an eye on your back. (Better safe than sorry).

 Click here: Honesty Billy Joel - YouTube