Tuesday, July 18, 2017

On Truth



   
   

When people start talking about a spiritual “truth,” I find myself getting a little fidgety. “Whose truth?”, I think. “What truth?” Are we talking about millennia-old Biblical tales where God told the Israelites to conquer the land of Canaan west of the Jordan…already occupied…because it belonged to them? Or perhaps we are studying the great religions…Christian and non-Christian…whose prophets have told them that they know the truth and others are wrong. We might also be thinking more philosophically of more existential views of truth as states of being and inner understanding rather than instructions from organizations on what are acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Perhaps there are more questions than there will ever be answers when it comes to a “truth,” and maybe experiences of truth will always be relative to the one who has the experience.

No special truth...

At any rate in our modern times we may be more able to realize that the more we understand ourselves, the more we understand the nature of truth, or God, or Love, or whatever term we choose to use. Perhaps we have grown enough as a species to discover that there is no special truth that belongs to some but not to others. Perhaps we now know that we are more brothers and sisters in life rather than opponents seeking an upper hand.

A world vastly connected...

Ultimately what affects one affects all. In a world vastly connected, this should be more apparent than ever. Maybe, then, we might become more concerned about the ultimate state of wellbeing for all and think of this as a universal, hands-on Truth.

You might also enjoy "On knowing when to let go."


http://More Essays About Everything is now available on Amazon





2 comments:

  1. Truth ... it is in the eye of the beholder indeed.
    Question? Are there Universal Truths? Such as cause and effect? Which works whether we realize or recognize it or not?

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    Replies
    1. Most truth is in the eye of the beholder, but there are Universal Laws, such as C&E that work all the time, whether or not we are aware of them. When we are aware of the Laws, we work with them and thus get outcomes we favor.

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