Truth

What is truth? I used to have an idealistic vision of the word; this specific, all empowering, majestic noun — sometimes mistaken for a verb but rarely confined to the altruistic nature of its origins, those that predate the 9th century middle English and, was conjoined somewhere in Norse mythology pointing to, of all things — faith.

I don’t know if there’s irony in the idea that truth and faith are bedfellows, originating in a time where they were considered equals or at the very least similes from a mystical era gone by.

Let’s talk about truth, as I know it, for one second. It’s 12:09 AM and my day has been long, moderately interesting and capped off with 3 glasses of rather sublime scotch which, has put me in a intransitive if not completely rebellious state of mind. It happens. I quietly collect the data of the day and, with a carefully meted dose (my poison of choice), here I am throwing caution to the wind and with it, good judgement.

To truth — and beyond. An interesting descriptor taken from Merriam Webster: “a statement or idea that is true or accepted as true.”

So at what point is truth — truth?

If it’s accepted as truth, we have to imply that the story put forth is such that it cannot be, in any discernible way be unproven so therefore — it must be truth.

But therein lies the paradox of truth. If I tell you a story and you have no reason not to trust me, that story becomes truth. It is our reality. However, if you do not trust me — then it casts a shadow of doubt — which makes my story questionable. The story now hangs precariously over a steep precipice, regardless of origins or veracity.

Truth is only as strong as the belief in the people sharing that truth.

Sound familiar? I would ask you to refer to paragraph one in this slightly drunken blog.

I’m a trustworthy guy, right? I mean sure, you have your doubts but for the most part — I have given you little reason to think that anything I’m putting forth is a lie. And your doubts need to be put in check because what I’m saying to you, at this very moment in time, is simple truth. You must believe me. You must have — faith.

What if you don’t have faith? Without faith, the suggestion would be that you don’t have truth. Everything then becomes conjecture. Essentially, this would make you paranoid.

You’ve read this far and if you haven’t asked yourself where I’m going with all this banter, then you must really like me or, you are completely off your rocker. Truth.

So here’s where I am going with this: We all need truth. Maybe not a truth based on faith in the classical sense, one where we tie ourselves to a deity or omnipotent creature in the sky, one which has the ability to grant wishes and see us in our journey to the afterlife. No, what I’m talking about is the ability to believe — belief in a real, simple truth.

Unfortunately — simple truth is a misnomer. Truth is a product of our environment and, our experience. There has to be a leap off point where we believe simply because it feels like the right thing to do. But, doing this, we understand (most of us) and accept that we’ll be wrong from time to time. And maybe more time to time than at other times…

I’m thinking this is where faith comes in. The glue in the cosmic universe, a universe that seems to constantly play cruel and unusual jokes on us, the unsuspecting earth dwellers, trying to make sense out of our very existence.

Truth. It’s a line. It is the line you draw in the sand. It is that place where you are comfortable and to cross it would mean a certain unravelling of your very existence. Few if any want to go to that barren wasteland. Often, it is a place of isolation that separates you from the flock and subjugates you to infernal ridicule, brought on by masses that have colluded, discussed in great length and come to a consensus regarding the acceptable truth.

Truth is what you believe. So therefore, it is not based on fact. Fact is similar to a neutrino — we know they’re out there, we simply can’t see them. So we fill in the blanks and those blanks become our faith. That faith in humanity, in god, in the universe that steers us forward, unfettered in our determination to see it through to the very end, no matter what.

Here’s what I know about truth in this day and age: If you believe it, then it is your truth. It doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true, it just means that you have looked at the evidence before you and made a decision that you are comfortable with. It’s your life and you need to see it through as best you can and, without doing too much harm to those around you.

I’d like to conclude by saying; don’t get hung up on the truth… but that would be foolish. Truth needs to be comfortable. Life is finite and we aren’t going to please everyone or anyone (for that matter) all of the time. Follow your heart, follow your belief and don’t let anyone sway you unless they have empirical truth that can’t be denied by anyone, most importantly — you. I think subconsciously, we all know what truth is. Beyond that, it’s what level of discomfort you’re willing to accept to preach your truth to those that would require a leap of faith.

There’s a message here. Somewhere in all the words. I leave it to you to find your truth.