Some Things Are True, Whether You Believe Them or Not

"Some things are true whether you believe in them or not"
Seth, City of Angels

Guess I'm feeling philosophical this morning...this is actually something I wrote over a year ago, but wanted to post it here. I'll transfer my reality post tomorrow.

Ahhh...Truth. A different side of the reality coin. A paradox. Elusive to those with closed minds. Obvious to others detached from it. Then there are those dedicated to their own, "personal truths" which can change depending on the wind.

Ultimately, though, there is only truth. And truth doesn't have to prove itself. It doesn't care if you honor it or not. It will simply go on being truth, regardless. Experience has taught me that life is a lot less complicated if I align myself with truth...but sometimes, truth seems lost in a fog.

One value I have tried very hard to instill in Erik is to always tell the truth. As Mark Twain has said, ' if you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.' It is amazing to me how, at even a young age, children are quick to tell a lie before the truth. I think this is a basic human survival instinct. Let's face it, looking back over our human history, telling the truth sometimes got you dead! So, it is up to us parents and teachers to help our children find value in truth...not an easy task.

Erik has stumbled around truth many times and dabbled in half truths and whole lies. Recently, he was confronted by his baseball coach and he chose truth, whereas many teammates chose to lie. This cost him play time in the next game; a harsh consequence indeed. A friendship suffered because of Erik's decision. A buddy chose to lie to the coach and got to play in the game. It's been weeks now, but Erik can't let it go. "But he was such a good friend," I say. "But he lied, mom!" Erik's first instinct was to go to the coach and tell him how these other boys lied. I advised him to rethink that tactic. "Argue your case, but don't be a tattletale..." He actually took my advice for once.

Over the years, I have also struggled with truth and the lies of others. I am no saint. In fact, I can be quite lazy. I guess this is why I just find it easier to deal with the truth, than to waste energy on lies. When I would complain about this to my friend, Debbie, "Why would they lie like that? Now I have lost all trust...I can never trust anyone again!" (wah wah :( )

She wisely replied, "You can always trust someone to be true to themselves in the moment." (not her exact words, but you get the jist). Yes, even when they lie.

What a relief. People lie for all sorts of reasons and it's really not my responsibility. If a friend chooses to lie to me, breaking a trust...it really has nothing to do with me. I can then choose to stay friends or move on. Many of us, myself included, rail against this broken trust issue. "I can never trust again!" But, think about it. Why not? I give my trust freely and will continue to do so. A good side effect of aging is that the older I get, the less I suffer fools. I try to live an honest life and usually this attracts honest people of like mind.

Debbie continued to tell me, "The truth just is. It doesn't matter... the lies others tell, the truth will always, simply, be."

My Gandhi quote from my reality post goes well with this (and yes, I like quotes):

An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.