Truth

What is truth and how will you define it? Truth, like knowledge, surprisingly difficult to define. We seem to rely on it almost every moment of every day and it is very close to us.

It is a universal fact that there is beauty in truth, even if it is painful. Those who lie, twist life so that it looks tasty to the lazy, brilliant to the ignorant, and powerful to the weak. But lies only strengthen our defects. They don't teach anything, help anything, fix anything or cure anything. Nor do they develop one's character, one's mind, one's heart or one's soul.

Words can be twisted into any shape. Promises can be made to lull the heart and seduce the soul. In the final analysis, words mean nothing. They are labels we give things in an effort to wrap our puny little brains around their underlying natures, when ninety-nine percent of the time the totality of the reality is an entirely different beast. The wisest man is the silent one. Examine his actions. Judge him by them.

Some people think that the truth can be hidden with a little cover-up and decoration. But as time goes by, what is true is revealed, and what is fake fades away. Truth is, I will never know all there is to know about you just as you will never know all there is to know about me. Humans are by nature too complicated to be understood fully. So, we can choose either to approach our fellow human beings with suspicion or to approach them with an open mind, a dash of optimism and a great deal of candor.

Truth never dies. The ages come and go
The Mountains wear away, the stars retire
Destruction lays earth's mighty cities low
And empires, states and dynasties expire
But caught and handed onward by the wise
Truth never dies.

Though undeceived and scoffed at through the years
Though made the butt of ridicule and jest
Though held aloft for mockery and jeers
Denied by those of transient power possessed
Insulted by the insolence of lies
Truth never dies.

It answers not. It does not take offense
But with a mighty silence bides its time
As some great cliff that braves the elements
And lifts through all the storms its head sublime
It ever stands, uplifted by the wise
And never dies.

As rests the Sphinx amid Egyptian sands
As looms on high the snowy peak and crest
As firm and patient as Gibraltar stands
So truth, unwearied, waits the era blest
When men shall turn to it with great surprise
Truth never dies.

Actually, your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been rendered. Whether you are going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over people and circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are. You don't learn from successes; you don't learn from rewards; you don't learn from great books; you only learn from wounds and scars and mistakes and failures. And that is the ultimate truth.

Anyhow, we learned about honesty and integrity that the truth matters and that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square. After all, honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. So stop doing what is easy but start doing what is right.

Be impeccable with your word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love. Don't assume, ask. Be kind. Tell the truth. Don't say anything you can't stand behind fully. Have integrity. Tell people how you feel.

Remember, trust starts with truth and ends with truth. Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time.