Crossing The Line

As medical professionals, we are trained to be skeptical – because our patients lie to us all the time. The rule is: every patient is a liar, until proven honest.

Lying is bad, or so we’re told, constantly, from birth. Honesty is the best policy, “I chopped down the cherry tree”… whatever.

The fact is: lying is a necessity. We lie to ourselves because the truth… well… the truth freaking hurts. No matter how hard we try to ignore it, or deny it, eventually the lies fall away – whether we like it, or not.

But, here’s the truth about the truth… it hurts. So, we lie.

In surgery, there is a red line on the floor that marks the point where the hospital goes from being accessible to being “off limits” to all but a special few. Crossing the line is not tolerated.

In general, lines are there for a reason; for safety, for security, for clarity. If you choose to cross the line, you pretty much do so at your own risk.

So why is it that the bigger the line, the greater the temptation to cross it?

We can’t help ourselves, we see a line – we want to cross it. Maybe it’s the thrill of trading the familiar with the unfamiliar, a sort of personal dare. Only problem is – once you’ve crossed, its almost impossible to go back.

But, if you do manage to make it back across that line, you find safety in numbers.