Is it true, that we can't handle the truth?
Doesn't the truth cut both ways? Isn't the truth used as a deception to be used and abused? Is the truth the hardest thing to handle? You may think that these questions are petty, yet, we keep saying "Tell me the truth" than we hold our hands over our ears and shout at the top of our voice because we don't want to hear the truth. Maybe not literally but we certainly still deal with the truth like a seven year old.
On one hand the truth can make a person feel good, safe, and complete. On the other hand, it pains another causing shame, guilt, and emptiness. Why is there so much riding on the truth? Why does the truth always have to be told? Why do we keep skirting around the truth?
Communication is the vehicle by which we create and maintain all of our human relationships. If we "Speak the truth" when we talk or write to others, then these relationships can be deep and honest. But there are many reasons why we may not always chose to tell the truth in a given situation. Let's take a look at these reasons and why we fear the truth.
Reasons Why You Might Not Tell the Truth:
- You don't know the truth:
- You fear the consequences:
- You think the other person will not hear, or be able to handle, the truth
- You don't want the other person to tell you their truth:
- Telling the truth requires awareness.
That's simple! You can't tell what you don't know yourself. Many times, we don't know the truth because we have not been informed, we have not researched it, or examined what we believe for ourselves. But, because we want others to think we understand we come up with what makes us feel good or what others have told us is the truth.
Sometimes when you tell the truth there are potentially significant consequences either for yourself or others. You may find it easier to tell the truth only when it is non-threatening. But what is the hidden cost? When avoidance of consequences becomes paramount we end up only telling the truth when it is convenient. We carry around with us an uncomfortable inventory of past censorships and un-communicated thoughts and feelings.
You can control how you speak your truth, but you cannot control how someone else hears, interprets, or reacts to it. In trying to protect or shield another from the truth you are in effect diminishing them - restricting their access to important information and downplaying their potential for resiliency. If you speak the truth with compassion and let the other person know you are coming from a place of wanting only the best for them, chances are they will be able to take what you are saying in a positive way and draw upon their own internal resources to react appropriately. Don't underestimate them. Show your belief in their ability to handle it. Offer them the gift of your truth and give them the opportunity to surprise and delight you with their response.
Sometimes you just don't want to ruin a perfectly good, but superficial, relationship by telling the truth. After all, if you tell your truth, it is only equitable that you allow the other person to tell theirs. And what are the risks to that? The other person might say something which conflicts with your view of the world. The other person might criticize you or what you do. You risk deepening the relationship by telling the truth
Too often we don't want to be aware. It's just easier going through life unaware. Awareness is knowledge. Our lack of knowledge, or our limited resources to true knowledge, keeps us from knowing everything, as we like to think we do. One method (suggested by Thomas Leonard) for becoming more aware of your own truth is to reduce or eliminate anything that clouds or numbs your ability to recognize truth as it emerges (e.g., adrenaline, stress, excessive busyness, mind-altering drugs or alcohol, addictions, etc.)
Another way is to consciously ask yourself what you believe to be true in each situation, and be willing to challenge yourself and your beliefs daily.
Of course there are many other reasons not to tell the truth 100% of the time. If you really think through each situation you will begin to see that the reasons just do not hold water.
Lies, Lies, Lies
According to Winston Churchill, "The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is."
We all have been lied to. People are just that way. They lie to hide things, promote things, and sometimes just to hurt people. I believe that lies are told to mask our fears. Lies are cover-ups to our inability to understand the truth. Either we do not have the knowledge, or we just do not care enough about a subject to find that knowledge. So, lies will prevail when people are ill informed. Lies hurt! No doubt about it. Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world without lies!
Suppose We Could Not Lie
Lets imagine for a moment that we could not lie. I mean the kind of lies where we know they are lies. Even in a world where no one lies there would still be different opinions that everyone has. How is that possible you may think? If the truth is always told, then everyone would agree. The video attached to this page will explain what happens when people have different perspectives, partial knowledge, or there is information that they just do not know. In their heart they may be telling the truth as they know it. What they know, is just bits and pieces of the truth, therefore what they believe in their heart is just bits and pieces that they fill in the blanks to make what they feel is the truth.
Many have said that there is no such thing as truth, only various opinions. In saying this, however, It does not mean that truth does not exist, but only that we cannot know that it exists until we know it all. What we can know -- or at least what we can have a strong opinion about -- is that men's opinions often converge, and that such convergence makes it convenient to say that we have "discovered some truth". I hasten to point out, however, that the fact that men's opinions often converge is not sufficient to prove the existence of truth. For example: At one time men's opinions once converged in agreeing to the truth that the world was flat, and yet most men today would not belive such a thing to be true.
One Truth About The World
IF WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS NOT TRUTH, THEN HOW YOU LIVE IS A LIE
For centuries sailors were warned not to go far from shore because the world was flat and a ship could sail right off the edge. We know the truth now and ships sail around the globe.
Think how people lived while under the guise of a flat earth. Think of the fear that sailors would have while believing this "untruth" or opinion. Many lived their whole life believing a lie. It effected how they lived their lives, how they perceived their surroundings, and effected the choices they made
If you know the truth than you can face it head on just like the sailor who first crossed the ocean. I imagine that at first they were looking around wondering if they were going to fall off the edge. Some things we believe will have lasting effects on us. It is important then to know the truth! The problem is can we handle the truth? Do we really want to know the truth? I don't know about you but I really do not want to live a lie. What do we believe? How do we live? Are you going to fall off the edge?
Honest education is a good way to find the truth. Examining the evidence is a way juries decide what the truth is. Lets stop believing the latest trend or or what feels good. Lets become scholars of the truth. As for me....well I don't want to come across conceded or opinionated but than I can afford to be because.... I'm Right!
Join me as we discover the truth about many issues. Follow along as we study the facts, find the fiction, and separate the truth from the lies. First question we will look into will be the most important question to consider. After all finding out the answer to this question will change your whole perspective on life.
Artical Video
What Is Truth
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