Trying to understand the truth is like trying to keep a pool of water in your hands. You may find and hold some, but there are always important drops that slip from your grasp. The truth is ever-changing. You may think that you know what the truth is but you will always find new definitions, and new ways to see or explain the truth. The truth may change from person to person. This means that the definition of truth will also change.
"Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth."
~ Kahlil Gibran
The truth is everywhere at once. You may try all your life to discover the entire truth but this will never be achieved. Bits and pieces of the whole can be found, but the vastness of truth itself makes it impossible to capture. At any given moment, there are millions of things going on. The sun is rising. There is a bird tending to her nest. There are children playing in their yard. These things are all true. When you combine these truths plus all the others, this will form the complete, whole truth.
"There is no truth. There is only perception."
~ Gustave Flaubert
If I mentioned the word 'truth' to 10 people I would probably get 10 different answers. Some would claim the truth was strictly factual while others might say that it is whatever you want it to be. One of the things that makes truth so difficult to grasp is that it is different to everyone. Much like snowflakes, no two people are exactly alike. I believe that your background influences what truth means to you. To me, truth is something real or something that you believe in. It is factual and can be explained. You should be able to show why you think something is true.
"Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it"
~Andre Gide.
Just as truth is different to people of different backgrounds, truth could also be different to people of different intelligence. The truth to a three year old would likely be very simple. This is Mom. This is Dad. This is my toy. That is true to them. But, to a inventor who knows all kinds of things about the world, the truth might be very complex. If you know more, you need to fit more into your truth. The truth will become more and more layered and elaborate.
"Truth is beautiful, without a doubt; but so are lies."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
How can one simple word be so very complicated? Hold so much meaning and emotion? The truth is everywhere. It is changing and evolving even as we speak. Did you ever stop to think twice about this powerful thing? And yet the more you think about the truth, the more confused and wonderstruck you will become. The truth differs from person to person. What is truth to you?
Truth is after all a moving target
Hairs to split,
And pieces that don't fit
How can anybody be enlightened?
Truth is after all so poorly lit.
~Neil Peart, Turn the page
(Thank you, Ryan)
I like the analogy you make about truth being like holding on to water in your hands. You're very right about the fact that important details slipping away, even as we try hard to hold on to them. Your blog post shows how huge and how unmanageable the truth is. I really like how you talk about how the truth is different depending on a person's background and perspective. You show how one event and one message will be heard differently by each member of your audience.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great first blog post. I'm really excited to continue to read your next posts!