The essence of the Trickster is lies. Lies are the center of the human condition. They are our sunshine and our rain. They are our gravity but also how we can soar. They are our darkest moments and light for our lives.

A personal, true story.

My dad went fishing once after my sister and I had both moved to a city where we lived not far from each other. When I was visiting, my dad offered some trout he had caught. I told my dad that I don’t really like fish, so he said, “Well, your sister likes them. Take these up to her.”

A few days later, fully occupied with life, the fish were still in my freezer. My sister called and said, “Daddy said you had my fish!” So, I promised to bring them to her and promptly forgot again. The next day, she called again. Like a flash of lightning, inspiration hit me. I promised again to deliver the fish and then rushed to the grocery store to buy a tin of whole anchovies and carefully wrapped a single fish in tinfoil and newspaper until it looked like a whole package. Then I changed the message on my answering machine and delivered the single anchovy.

When my sister called, just a few minutes after I returned, the answering machine told my sister that she got her fish so what was she complaining about. I could hear her laughing as I cut off the call to change the message again. When my dad called about ten minutes later, the answering machine explained that I delivered the fish and I had no idea what my sister was going on about. My next message said that I wasn’t available because I had moved to Outer Mongolia. I was able to keep this up, anticipating exactly who would call next for several more calls before I delivered the real fish.

Lies? Absolutely! Fun? Oh, yeah! Lies are not always a bad thing. Sometimes, they can be the best part of living. Or they can make living seem like death. Most lies are somewhere in the middle. The key thing to remember is that whenever you receive some communication from someone, at least part of it is probably a lie. Dealing with that reality should be a central part of everyone’s life.

Lies are the center of the human condition.