So – Why Speak?
I am telling you all of this for three main reasons.
First, so that you truly understand what you are getting into.
Second, so that you have a greater appreciation of why you have not spoken the truth in the past – so that you can be more gentle with yourself.
If speaking the truth were easy, and everyone still lied, then the world could not be saved. However, because speaking the truth can be almost unbearably difficult, the world
can
be saved, because people are not just cowards, but rather are frightened for very good reasons.
Thirdly, I am telling you this so that you can understand the essential service that you are providing the world by speaking the truth.
The world will not be saved by the violent lies of culture, but by the rational light of truth.
Idealists who disregard the real danger of their ideals tend to become masochists, or nihilists.
The future will not be improved by masochists, but by idealists.
I do not want you to embark upon this amazing journey in order to feel pain.
It certainly is true that you
will
feel pain during this journey, but you need to understand – if you are to succeed – the enormous virtue and value of what you are doing.
The reasons for refraining from speaking the truth are self-evident – we feel them all the time, every single day – the
reasons for
speaking
the truth, however, are far from evident and can at times seem purely imaginary.
As we move into the final section of this book – how to implement the principles of the Real-Time Relationship
in your own life – your anxiety will rise precipitously. You will feel clammy, your hands will sweat, you may shake, your sleep will decrease, your stomach will flip and your tension will mount.
That is how much, deep down, we so desperately want to be free.
And how much we fear our fellow slaves.
During this process, you will feel strong urges to fling this
“evil” book across the room, and get back into the comfortable little box of social conformity.
Fling away – be my guest, I can take it!
Then, take a deep breath, walk across the room, and pick this book up again.
This book is not about me, or my ideas, but you, and your freedom.