I woke up this morning (and immediately checked my phone – yes, it is the first thing I do, even before putting on my glasses) & found a 3:13 AM text, wondering if I was okay with “all of craziness going on there, some rioting and such.”
I confirmed my safety via text, and then checked sfgate.com (the mobile website of the San Francisco Chronicle) thinking they would have the latest “official” news.
Found nothing except general “yay we won the World Series” stuff. Hum.
So I went to twitter. (Of course.)
Yes. There it was. Thousands of people had been rioting most of the night after the SF Giants won the World Series – most of those riots taking place a few blocks from my apartment.
Even confirmed by the people checking into the riots via 4square. (lol & wtf.)
(Why does the local team succeeding inspire some people to go out and run around screaming, break bottles, set fires, and sabotage the municipal bus system? Sigh.)
But the San Francisco Chronicle called this “joyful mayhem” – as if calling it “joyful” makes it okay. As if this behavior is a necessary part of victory. As if rioting about a sporting event is part of free speech and free assembly, a celebrated part of what it means to be American.
Yet another reason I don’t read the paper.
But the thing is, this bullshit spin on reality happens everywhere. From everyone.
In politics (thank god I don’t have TV this election season so I missed the nasty commercials), in our romantic relationships, in our marketing, even subtly in our 140 character tweets.
Human beings naturally spin facts and truth to manipulate the people around them into thinking, being, behaving how they want.
So we can hide our fears we wish to never be discovered. So we can get others to fulfill our needs we’re afraid to ask for. So we can force people to do what we wish they would do anyway.
We all do this.
Sometimes because we aren’t aware we are doing it.
Sometimes because we are afraid no one will meet our needs until we trick them.
Sometimes because we have no other framework except subtle manipulation and outright force.
This is the current frontier of Live Your Truth.
It’s all nice and good to have your Moment & get all self-actualized. In a vacuum.
But we live in a world of other humans.
And we still need to get stuff done.
We need to get our needs met. We need to deal with people who may never get us and those who are also on this journey, with people who don’t give a crap about our mission and those who are totally on board, with people who have never read a self-help book and those who are all about yogaish woowoo self-improvementness.
The question is – how do we do deal with people and also live our truth?
In a few days I’ll be sharing my newest program, Live Your Truth in Partnership, where we will be exploring this for the next 10 months.
A framework for understanding ourselves and each other. For making deals so everyone gets what they need, without anyone being “taken.” For working, living, loving other people – simultaneously living our own truth without squashing theirs.
For building partnerships with every person in our lives – family, friends, partners, significant others, kids, clients, coworkers, colleagues – so we can support each other, create win-win dynamics, and still all be completely ourselves.
Want to join me on this new adventure?
If so … get on the First Dibs list so you don’t miss the announcement! 
I'm Elizabeth Potts Weinstein, an attorney, mom, writer, and explorer.