Dear LPG,

Here is an interesting and quite personal take on New Year’s resolutions…

A couple of years ago, I decided that my New Year’s resolution would be not to tell all those silly little lies that we so often tell without thinking.  (Have you noticed how easily I accuse all of us of doing it?)

I am talking about the day a friend who you have not heard from, thought of or tried to get in touch with for ages, phones you out of the blue.  The first thing you say to them is, ‘I’ve been trying to call you for ages.’ Then there is the day that your friend reveals their new absolutely ridiculous outfit and asks if you really like it.  What do you say?  I know that relatively few of the readers of this page are likely to go to work anymore, but I am sure that nearly every one of us can remember inventing a cold as an excuse to get a day off, and we would be on a serious loser if we tried to play a game of cards without stretching the truth.

I have been trying to be truthful for two years now and have not done too badly, although I reserve the right to avoid the truth or tell an outright lie about a surprise present or a birthday party and I also try not to hurt feelings with my truths. 

Yesterday I caught myself doing something quite despicable in the light of my commitment.  I texted a friend to pass on a truthful message, but at the end I mentioned that I did not call because my mobile was running out of battery and I needed to charge it.  Now that I think about it I am asking myself why I did not just tell the truth which is, although I love to talk for ages I just did not have time on that occasion, then to make it worse I put my phone on charge even though it was all but fully charged anyway.  It was such a trivial thing to do, but it somehow helped me to justify what I had said at the time, I failed!

I suppose we are allowed to backslide every now and then, but I did feel more than a little guilty even though the only person I was really cheating was myself, and I have no doubt that to anyone else including the person I said this to, this lie would appear to be a trivial misdemeanour. 

If LPG are kind enough to post my message on the day I asked I should be able to ask this question.  Did you know that today is National Tell a Lie day? 

I have to say that since that New Year promise I made to myself, I find it really difficult to do it without my conscience reminding me about my ‘resolutionary’ undertaking.  But I can put the memory of my recent mistake behind me on a day like today and start again tomorrow, can’t I?

RB, Grove Park.

RB offers some titbits that he has found on the subject…

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…and LPG found some information about National Tell a Lie Day…

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