Our feelings, desires, don’t opinions don’t always tell us the truth. Sometimes they lie. The strength of a feeling, desire, or opinion is not a measure of its importance or accuracy. Many of our feelings, desires, and opinions don’t “follow the science” or the facts.

Honesty is essential to a stable life, because without honesty we build our lives on the faulty foundation of falsehood. Lying covers up truth and tries to hide it. It can never change truth, but instead voluntarily puts falsehood in truth’s place.

Our feelings, desires, and opinions are often inner bullies that try to compel us to obey them. They lead to illusion more often than to reality. Just because we want, feel, or think something, doesn’t make it true.

Feelings, desires, and opinions are a fragile foundation for building your life because they frequently fade and shift like sand. To try to replace reality with our feelings, desires, or opinions is a dangerous way to live.

Reality isn’t determined by the feelings, desires, and opinions that clamor within us. When the doctor wrote “male” on my birth certificate, he wasn’t following his feelings, desires, or opinions, but the reality he saw right in front of his eyes.