I've been thinking a lot today about several experiences in my life lately, and about the saying, "The truth hurts.". This is really a loaded saying, and if you stop to think about it, is very meaningful. But I think this saying really isn't finished. Let me explain.
Sometimes the truth does hurt. Sometimes we don't want to accept the truth. We want to continue along with our safe view of the world without having to face the truth. For people who do this, the truth, when it slaps them in the face, really does hurt. But honestly, most people ignore the truths in their lives, and try to pretend that everything fits inside their prescribed paradigm.
But sometimes, what hurts more is when something isn't true, but we wonder in ourselves if there is truth in it. Someone might say to you, "You are the ugliest person I ever saw." You know that can't be possibly true, but the insinuation that you fit in to that "ugly" category hurts. Sometimes the thought that there is even a possibility of a small amount of truth is just as painful as if it were fully true. But that really isn't the most painful thing.
I've come to feel that the worst pain is when something absolutely isn't true, but other people believe it to be so. That injustice is the worst pain of all. It is far worse than if someone spoke an absolute truth to you.
But what it all comes down to is that we need not be afraid of the truth. Sometimes our pride gets in the way, and we refuse to accept that there could be any lack of truth on our part. But accepting truth does not mean that our previous thinking or actions were completely false or incorrect. We do the best we can with the best we know. We can't be faulted for that. When we know better, we can then do better. So rather than fear the truth, we should welcome it, and embrace the chance to change. Because don't we want to be completely on the side of truth? Would we rather live with untruth?
Some people are already so beat down that when they hear the truth, they lose all hope. This is also not living within the scope of truth, because they aren't seeing the truths they already embrace. We have to be careful to accept the truth for what it is, and not to add mistruths to our understanding.
I don't know if I have written this post very well, but I hope you will understand my thinking lately, and that when we hear truth, we should be willing to listen with an open mind and heart, and accept what is true, and then cast off the rest. This is what it means to truly be true to self.
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3 comments:
You are right and yet wrong. It is a matter of context and point of view. I had to tick off a long standing business contact yesterday pointing out some painful truths about his behaviour and discontinuing my business relationship with him. Sure it hurt him but he had hurt me before by his cavalier behaviour. In other words, we cannot generalise.
Accept what is true - now that's a loaded comment. True in what sense? Factually established without a doubt? Faithfully established without a doubt? I agree with Ramana's point on it being a matter of context and point of view. I think I am somewhat in agreement with you but you took a fork in the end I may not be willing to follow. That said, truth is always the path to follow IMHO
Shackman, I think there are certain things that are either true, or not true. If someone accuses me of being lazy, I can look to myself, and ask myself whether or not it is true. Deep down, I know the truth. Whether or not I"m willing to admit it is another thing. :)
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