People Don't Want To Hear The Truth

Nietzsche couldn't have been more correct when he said,

Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed

In humans, it is ordinarily observed that the imaginations concocted up in our minds seem to not want to conform to reality.

Reality and illusions are two different phenomena with an almost counteractive relationship existing between them, such that they never really go together, and this consequently plunges us into hurt, pain, depression.

“Illusion is the first of all pleasures.” — Voltaire

Illusions are kind of what we wish our reality to be; the perfect world, the preferred outcome of our actions, that place where everything is as we think they are or should be, whereas reality is just... reality.

Usually, just on the surface, we pretend to yearn for the truth, while deep down, we know we hardly can and don't want to handle the truth! Is this why we prefer the lie?

I asked a psychologist friend of mine why people didn't like to hear the truth and she said it was because the truth is mostly unpleasant and likened lies to a comfortable bed, which people would rather lie on than on the hard floor. Little wonder why when you ask for people's opinions, they ask whether you want the lie or the truth so that their answer conforms to your expectations.

A few like me want the truth first hand. Of course the truth hurts, but I definitely want to be confident about something I did, I'm wearing or even said, so when I ask for your opinion, I want the truth, otherwise, I wouldn't have asked in the first place. It is quite usual to get an average response at first from people but after assuring them like... "Go on, tell me exactly what you think is wrong about this. I won't get mad", you find that the negativity they've been hiding from you starts to surface.

I, in a group of four friends, seem to give the most honest opinions about stuff to the extent that I got tagged a 'badmouth.' So, upon the frightening realization, I resorted to saying 'it's okay' whether it was good or bad since that's what they want to hear anyway.

Not too long after this resolution, one of my friends made a hairdo. At first sight, I thought to myself what the heck she'd done but said nothing. Hours later, a random classmate told her plainly that her hairdo made her look old. Typical human, she felt bad and our other friend comforted her by telling her it was good, and then added to come ask me for my opinion because Precious would definitely say the truth.

When she asked, I could tell that as much as she needed the truth, she wanted a response that'd make her feel better- the lie. So I looked her straight in the eye and told her, "It's okay," and watched her face immediately light up, and my conscience die of guilt.

Okay, I know what I did was wrong and I let them know later about my resolution so they assured me not to be that way, since they can't always have what they want. They'd need the truth at times...lol.

In essence, even though it's better to face reality, most people prefer the lie as the truth is simply difficult to handle. The deceit tastes better and definitely activates their limbic systems. Our illusions sketch us a deceptive reality so that as much as we want to hear the truth, we still do not want to hear it.

Thanks for reading!

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