The truth, or most of the truth

How much is truth worth?

My world has lots of little white lies because, no matter how hard I want to be totally truthful, a part of me is afraid of the unnecessary pain, or damage it might do.

And yet.

If I am not truthful, how much honesty can I expect from those I am around?

I tend to lean towards the idea that if it really isn't important then a little white lie is okay.  For instance, I honestly don't care how you wear your hair, or your clothes if it makes you feel better about yourself.  And yet, if those choices are going to hurt you career wise, or socially, isn't it kinder for me to express my opinion?

What if I voice my real concerns about something you are contemplating doing?  In a way I am only transferring my own experiences, insecurities, and worries to you when you many never experience those things at all.  Am I only causing you unnecessary sorrow, or am I helping by laying out my own problems?

Life is a series of decisions.  It is almost never black and white.  There are way more than fifty shades of gray between one thought and its polar opposite.

I would say that it all depends on how much my thoughts influence your life, but who ever really  knows how important their opinion is to someone else? 

In the end I think it pays to be as honest as possible all the time, but always temper the sharing of opinions with true love and kindness.

And even that is hard, because people tend to skew their feelings about what is loving and kind to fit their current mood, so perhaps the most important thing of all is:

Always be truthful to yourself.