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Do All Men
Betray?
by Honesty Rivers
“All men betray.”
-- The Movie, BraveHeart
Is this true? Is it true that all (hu)mans betray? I don’t know the answer,
but I’d like to explore this question with you.
Have you noticed that
many successful stories have betrayal as a common theme? Think about it: The Count of Monte
Cristo, The Brothers Karamazov, The Matrix, and Braveheart, just to name a few. Even Jesus was betrayed by a kiss from one of his own disciples.
Sadly, it is a theme most of us can relate to.
Perhaps, looking at
your own life, betrayal has been a common thread.
Even worse,
have there been times when you’ve been forced to make decisions that others would see as
betrayal? Perhaps others have been hurt when you've had to chose between the “lesser of two evils” -- where no path was a good path, yet one was slightly better than another. And that was the path
you strove to take.
In my own
life, I look at these decisions, with hindsight, and with a sinking in my heart. For, when all roads lead to doom, what can you do? Even running and hiding,
or doing nothing, in these situations becomes a decision where no one wins. It seems out of one’s control. Almost destined. Can
you relate to this?
We would all
like to believe that those who have been hurt by us in this life can see, on some level, that
we did the best we could. That no matter which decision made, there would have been fall
out.
Most of us carry
many
woundings, many of them caused by betrayal. So let's take an honest look
and ask, "What IS “betrayal"?
What IS “Betrayal”?
Perhaps the main distinction we can make is: There is the
intentional act, and there is the unintentional act. Both can lead to the same outcome, and yet, they are vastly different in essence, or energy. And
this subtle distinction is more important than most of us realize.
There are those who DO intentionally deceive and hurt others. We must acknowledge this as a fact of human existence, however much we would prefer not to.
Yet perhaps we can acknowledge, also: If something is
unintentional, or if someone truly did the best they could,
perhaps that is not betrayal. It is merely the playing out of life. If we can acknowledge this, it may be easier to forgive ourselves and others for the seeming mistakes on our Journey.
Looking even deeper…how often do we betray our Selves? When we listen to others instead of our own truth,
is it a betrayal? When we feel in our hearts that something just isn’t right, but we let others talk us into it,
is it betrayal? I'm afraid the answer is "yes, it is."
Please do not judge yourself if you have done this. We have ALL done this.
To fit into this strange world we live in, most of us have been taught to
devalue and disregard our own truth. And so…perhaps the healing begins
Within. Can we honor our truth? Can we listen to our own Heart and be grateful for its guidance through the storms of life?
And, perhaps most of all, can we forgive that
nothing in this life is perfect…and it was never meant to be. Each fault line…each fracture in the mirror…contains a poignant yet powerful lesson. A lesson that has a beauty and a perfection of its own.
So, let's return to our original question: “Do all men betray?”
I would
like to rephrase this question to: “Do all humans intentionally set out to deceive and hurt others?” “Do they
intentionally set out to deceive and hurt themselves?”
I would have to say the answer is a resounding “No!”
By this
definition, if it is not intentional, then it is not betrayal. It is merely LIFE, and the lessons we learn along the way. And missteps, in the process of learning, are meant to be forgiven.
Please
feel free to forward or reprint this message. Please leave my contact
information in tact. Thank you!
Honesty Rivers, from Honesty's
Blog
http://www.Silver-Sun-Publishing.com
Highly
recommended: The Movie, "BraveHeart"
All content © Silver Sun
Publishing,
or © the listed writer, artist, or photographer
www.Silver-Sun-Publishing.com
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