LIFE'S TRUTH

This above all, to thine own self be true;
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

This quotation by William Shakespeare has become one of my favorite quotations and one which I refer to quite often, because it accurately reflects the fundamental definition of Truth as I see it.

Contrary to the general impression, truth is not a simple straight forward act of honesty and correctness. This is not surprising since the term has no single definition about which a majority of philosophers and scholars agree. Truth is not synonymous with “fact”, but is an interpretation of fact by the individual, based on his subjective perception of the actual or imagined circumstances and his ability to define and identify it as the truth. When we report truthfully, we are not just reporting a fact or a situation, but we are doing so with what we consider to be our sense of honesty and with an absence of deception. And vice versa, by contradicting truth, we contradict ourselves. In short, it is how we interpret truth that determines how we actually define truth.

It is no surprise therefore that, throughout the ages, so many differing theories have been put forward, and that uniform consensus is still non-existent. Over the years a variety of proposals have been offered to explain the meaning of truth without really fully succeeding. In the end however, it is left to each individual to recognize and express his own version of the truth, and to have it accepted or rejected by others.
Maya Angelou, the Miami based African-American author and poet, describes this in these terms:

There’s a world of difference between Truth and Facts;
Facts can obscure Truth.

To me, truth is a subjective interpretation of the existing facts presented as honestly and as accurately as we are capable of doing, without trying to objectively modify or alter its presentation or its outcome. It implies, as Shakespeare suggested, that truth, like love and honesty, must first begin with oneself, and one’s life. Unless we unconditionally live a life of fundamental truth and love for ourselves, we cannot hope to be truthful to others. And by extension, if we find it difficult to love ourselves, with all our imperfections, we cannot hope to walk in truth about ourselves and others. In this context I am reminded of a comment made by someone, whose name I do not recall, who stated;

“when in doubt as to our motives of not being truthful with someone;
….look inside, are we being less than truthful to ourselves?”

Unfortunately, contrary to what occurred in past times when truth telling was held in highest esteem, often involving life and death consequences, in today’s society it seems to have lost most of its luster. It would appear that, in these days, people regard truth telling as somewhat overrated and it is generally acceptable to lie and deceive and distort without due regard or concern. I have no doubt that we can all identify with this and will have little difficulty to think of examples in our own lives. Sometimes this may result in catastrophic consequences to the entire world. Like many of you, I can think of a recent blatant example when a sitting President leads a nation into a long and costly war by using information that was far from the truth, with no apparent consequence to the perpetrators. What a crying shame to humanity this has caused!

I sincerely hope that this will be a reminder that it is high time that we all return truth to its once rightful and exalted place. But as of now, there is no sign of this!

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In this time of universal deceit,
telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
…..George Orwell

A Truth spoken before its time is dangerous.

…….Author Unknown.

Truth is generally the best vindication against slander.
…….Abraham Lincoln

If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.
……..Mark Twain

Truth comes as conqueror only to those
who have lost the art of receiving it as friend.
……. Rabindranath Tagore

The search for truth implies a duty;
One must not conceal any part of what one has recognized to be
……Albert Einstien

People say they There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth;
not going all the way, and not starting.

……Buddha

Truth is a deep kindness that teaches us to be content in our everyday life,
and share with the people the same happines

……Khalil Gibran