Lies in society we accept as true

It seems to me that there are a great many lies in society we accept as true. We know they are not true, but we act as if they are and it only hurts ourselves and others. This is my humble attempt to list them.

1. 

   Money makes things better. Once our needs are met, more money has only made me less happy and science supports this. Millionaires have the highest rates of depression and unhappiness. Instead, we should accept that money is often a distraction to happiness and that pursuing it as a goal in itself is unwise.

2. We need other people. We don’t need other people. We can benefit from their presence, but whether there is someone who is around us or not, we can still be happy. People can be happy living as a monk or in the wild. Often what we think we need in other people is their bodies, because we do such a poor job of respecting and valuing someone’s soul.
3. Love means doing something like sacrifice. Lots of garbage movies say that you have to make some great sacrifices when you are in love. Like you have to compromise who you are, or you have to do things that don’t benefit yourself and just the other person. This is not love. Love is appreciating what makes someone unique and helping them to find their voice. Love gives us a chance to let go of “rules” and embrace kindness as the view of others’ actions and ourselves.
4. What is hidden can stay hidden. Lies, deceptions they all will be discovered. People who engage in this will eventually get caught. Perhaps not in this life or while they are alive, but they don’t escape history and the truth. People may think they get away with something because no one discovers it when they are alive, but the truth is always out there. It is always living in at least one other person, and when it is ignored it doesn’t go away. Lies distort the life of the person who lied, and all the people the lies affect.
5. Truth is outside of ourselves. We are taught that truth is something philosophical. That we have to think carefully or undergo analysis to uncover it. I have done those and that didn’t bring me closer to truth. The truth is that the truth was always inside. I knew at an early age that kindness, generosity, and love was the way to act. This is not to say I am a wonderful person, but rather that intelligence often leads us away from truth not closer to it. There is always a small voice that knows the truth if we choose to listen to it. Most people will admit they know what they “should” do, but choose to make the worst possible choice.

I will have more once I think some more about this topic. Letting go of lies has made my life so happy, and perhaps you will benefit as well.