Complicit in the Lie ?

I woke up today with the phrase on my lips "complicit in the lie"

The fairy tale from my childhood  "The Emperors New Clothes" came to mind. 

f you need reminding, here is the story. In a  nutshell it is about a very vain Emperor who is conned in to thinking that the clothes that are being made for him are so amazing that only those of high intelligence can see them. 

Everyone on his staff is so afraid of losing their jobs or being termed simple, that they all agree with the Emperor that his clothes are incredible, when there are in fact NO clothes. 

The emperor ends up parading through the streets naked! 

It isn't until a young boy - a truth speaker exclaims "But he has nothing on" that the lie is set free. This truth is then whispered through the crowds, until everyone starts to speak the truth. 

The emperor, knowing full well he actually isn't wearing any clothes, continues on in his parade pretending that he has in fact got the finest clothes on rather then admit that he too has been duped.

So I ask myself why? Why do people remain complicit in a lie, rather then speaking the truth?

• Is it the fear of speaking up with a different opinion?
• The fear of being rejected?
• The fear of being ousted?
• The fear of being persecuted?
• The fear of being a trouble maker?
• The fear of being different from the status quo? 

I remember in my 20's watching a 'healer' at an expo in Auckland working on a woman. A crowd of us were watching him as he touched her breasts as part of her 'healing', I thought to myself 'why is no one screaming out STOP?'

But as I looked around me, it seemed as if everyone was okay with what was happening. This made me doubt myself. Maybe what he was doing wasn't wrong (it was!). Maybe I didn't know what I was talking about. Maybe I wasn't as advanced as these other healers. 

Is it any different from those that turned a blind eye to abuse in its many forms over the years. The neighbour with the black eye, the kids that were clearly not being looked after, the co-worker who was being touched by the boss? Complicit in the lie?

So what do we do when we are faced with an "Emperors New Clothes" lie:

• Do we stand up and tell the truth like the little boy did? 
• Do we agree with the lie for fear of what might happen if we tell the truth, like his servants?
• Do we continue on with the charade like the Emperor, because we are so far down the track of our own parade, that we can not admit that we have indeed been duped. 

Or is there another way?
Do we quietly accept that our intuition, our wise inner voice, and our own knowing knows that something isn't right. Do we turn away from the parade and the charade and leave the emperor to it. Leave the crowds of those that are complicit in the lie, and go home, focusing on our own rising truth, creating sanctuaries for those, for when they are ready to hear the truth?

In my own journey, I have found that for HSP (highly sensitive people), speaking up requires a lot of support. Truth becomes freed when it is expressed in to loving, compassionate, kind, non-judgemental spaces. A special alchemy occurs when a truth is heard by someone who is able to hear it, to hold it , to validate it and to reflect and mirror it back. 

This piece is a curious enquiry to create thought. I have no answers, only questions and am interested in your feedback.