Lying Kills

The times in my life when I've been most hurt (outside of miscarriages) have been direct results of a lie. Sometimes, I'm ashamed to admit, even lies of my own. It's changed me. It's changed how I view lying and the kind of friend, daughter, sister, and wife I am. I've always considered myself at least reasonably non-judgmental...mostly because I've done so much wrong in my own life that to judge others for their failures would be the very definition of hypocrisy. That said, I cannot stand by and say or at least feel nothing when I know someone is lying. Not just leaving out part of a story but straight up, pants on fire lying. It just gets under my skin and reminds me of all the times a lie has hurt me. I recently lost a friend...no, she didn't die. We disagreed on a fairly inconsequential issue. She took offense at my position and lashed out. When I tried to discuss it, she lied and claimed her attack (for lack of a better word) was directed at someone else. I won't go into all the details because it doesn't matter but I know for a fact that she lied to me. She wouldn't own her words and now I grieve the friendship we could have had.