All I could say was, "I don't know what to do." I remember her taking me by the shoulders and looking me in the eye with a calm smile and saying simply, "Tell the truth, tell the truth, tell the truth.

Elizabeth Gilbert
About This Quote

When I was a young boy, my mother used to do this thing with me. She would make me look her in the eyes and tell the truth. In the moment, it seemed like a very simple thing to do. But as I got older, it became much more difficult to do this simple thing.

For many years, I just couldn't do it. Finally, though, I understood that the reason why I couldn't do it was that I lied all of the time and was afraid to tell the truth. The reason why she couldn't do it was that she felt too much pain and anger after lying so much.

When we lie, we often feel relief. But we also feel shame and guilt. We always lie because we fear what will happen if we tell the truth.

When we tell the truth, we often feel fear and shame and guilt as well as relief because we didn't lie anymore. When we truly want to be honest with someone, we must first overcome our own fears and find peace within ourselves before we can find peace in our relationship with others. The person who tells the truth does not run into trouble; she only feels peace within herself and then seeks peace with her family and friends as well as other people in her life.

Source: Eat, Pray, Love

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