WHY WE LIE
I NEVER MEANT to be a liar. But once you run out on truth, you tend to keep running. Truth, I learned, is a line, the lie is a sinker, and you are the fisherman. Your thumb on the reel lets the line go. Once the sinker drops, it’s hard to reel in, and so the water gets darker and the sinker goes down.
A decade ago, when I said, “I do”, I wasn’t looking for conflict avoidance, but I didn’t know what lay under the surface. When questions came up – Did we want a bucolic life or to stay in the city? Were our finances better kept apart or together? – I turned away or stayed silent. I started to lie so as not to cause problems. I said what I thought she wanted while quietly continuing to do just as I pleased. I started to lie more
