Imagine if you could tell the truth all the time. I dont mean that youd unload your criticisms, judgments, opinions, and unfiltered secrets on other people like youre raining down the contents of your garbage can. Such things may fall under the category of truth, but not usually. Truth tends to have the sense of a confession, like youre coming out of hiding, like youre finally taking off the masks youve worn and admitting to others that you see through theirs too. The truth usually sets everyone free because you no longer feel like you have to pretend. The truth is a huge relief, even if it hurts. Nobody can invalidate truth because its not an opinion. Its just true. Yet our entire culture is structured around avoiding the truth. We are taught that being polite has more value than telling the truth. A child points at a disabled man and says, That man has no arms, and we tell the child to shush. Yet, this is truth. There is no judgment or criticism or opinion in such a statement. The man has no arms. The child is confused. Why should we not speak truth? Certainly, we can be sensitive in the way we speak truth. We dont have to point and blurt and shame anyone with truth. We can have compassion for how truth might land on someone and offer the truth in soothing tones and a gentle touch. We most certainly want to avoid delivering truth with overtones of judgment. The truth often needs a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. But imagine what freedom we would all feel if we could always communicate the truth to each other! Imagine if you didnt have to put on your game face to go to work or if you didnt have to pretend youve got it all together in your family life or if you didnt have to show off for your friends. Imagine if everyone simply cared enough to know what was true for you, and you cared enough to want the same freedom for them. Imagine if you cared enough for yourself to tell yourself the truth. What would that feel like? Buddha said, Just as we can know the ocean because it always tastes of salt, we can recognize enlightenment because it always tastes of freedom. The truth will set you free. What truth do you need to tell yourself today? What truth do you need to share with another?
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 17:10:06 +0000
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