So, I had the opportunity to see the movie Where the Heart Is. The screenplay, written by Lowell Ganz, is based on the novel by Billie Letts. I got hooked in by the plot of a woman living in a Wal-mart, and came away with a fine example of a yoga philosophy ~ Satya, or Truthfulness.
The main character gets pregnant at 17, left by her boyfriend, lives in a Wal-mart, and has her baby there. But, then her life begins to turn around. She makes friends who take care of her, she works, develops a passion for photography and falls in love. But, she doesn’t think well enough of herself to claim it. She lies to the man she loves and he leaves. She, of course, is miserable. Then, her old baby-daddy comes back into the picture as a horrible wreck: drugs, broke and having lost his legs in a train accident. He tells her he wishes he could go back and undo the lie he told her on the day he left her. He said he couldn’t feel the baby’s heart beat. He says he now realizes how one lie can change your whole life….
Because of it, she finds her love and admits her lie. They live happily ever after. 🙂
How often do we lie? Small lies, big lies, lies to ourselves? This is one of the foundations of yoga practice: to be truthful. Like so many habits we have, lying, even white lies, is one to look at in ourselves. I think many times, it is a protection habit that could be left behind. The yogis honor Ahimsa, non harming, above all others, but it is a fine line with lying. As with our heroine above, she felt that she was protecting her lover from a life less than her idea of perfect for him, but it was his choice to make, not hers.
How can we honor truth in our lives and still be gentle?
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