The Bottom Line

There are times when you've got to take a deep breath, crack your joints, loosen up; and step to the toilet and take a huge dump. You may have to strain a bit. It may smell a lot. But that's just the way shit goes down.

In this life we are continuously torn between the expectations of others and our own painful realisation of our all too real inadequacies. Very often in these situations truth loses out to embarrassment. It's not that we don't know we can't do what's asked of us but the acceptance and acknowledgement of that sends us to a place between trauma and psychosis. It dredges up all sorts of historical guilt stemming from times we should have done something but didn't. It also challenges our fragile and desperate aspirational image of ourselves.

Ultimately the question becomes does duty trump honesty. For politicians, the wealthy, and celebrities this question is easily answered. They are almost pathologically impelled to put self interest first. The rest of us have to answer to whether we are really that shallow and selfish. This is a true test of our mettle. And maybe for all humanity.