Truth exists (Part X)
You might be inspired today, but tomorrow you can wake up and have the worst day ever. The right amount of truths will reinspire you later.
Is there such a thing as too many truths?
The phrase "too much of anything is bad for you" is very accurate. Truth is not a police or a judge following you around to correct you and make everything better. You can think of a parent or mentor who is always there for you when you need help. We certainly don't want our parents in our business every second of the day; that's simply too much.
At weddings, you might hear the passage from the bible about love.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4–8)
You can feel the balance in the passage; love is certainly not one thing. The reading is about a better way of life, a framework to operate when in a relationship. Verse 6 connects the dot with truths. Practicing love is a form of truth, and the right amount will do wonders in life.
Is truth similar for everyone?
In part 9, we covered truth being the glue connecting the whole. Truth is truth regardless of the size of the situation or persons it inhabits. Imagine people from two different parts of the world meeting for the first time. Everything about them might be different, like language, culture, and ideas. Geographic regions do not bound truth, so the two people can share a base that connects them more profoundly than their birthplaces.
Truth has always been the same for all of us. The problem is that we make biased decisions that skew our views on truth worldwide. Some might blame language and our disagreement nature as the force pushing us apart. The truth is we are capable of having differences of opinion and still love each other. We prove this in relationships, debate classes, and government systems. As long as we can put our views aside after a conversation, with truth's help, we can have harmony.
With truths always there, why is life so bad?
Good and evil are opposite of each. You cannot have one without the other. Data shows us that life today is far greater for everyone than in our ancestors or even in the middle ages. For every good in life, there is a bad aside from it.
The story of the Buddha, the south Asian spiritual leader, is an excellent example of balance. The story mentioned how his father sheltered him from society to keep him away from harm, as most fathers do. Buddha only grew curious to see the world, and sure enough, he got the chance to see it, and it tore him apart seeing all the hurt, which led him to the discovery of enlightenment to deal with the evils of the world.
A monk's teaching says our goal should be to reduce the amount of suffering in the world. The message tells us that the bad part of life is constant, and you can help, not by eliminating the bad forever but reduce it. The truth in you is the guiding light.
Can you imagine life without pain? Humans are unfamiliar with this concept as we have never experienced such a life. This is an indication that we have to learn how to live with the pain.
Learn it and put it away, but not too long.
If you walk on one leg, you can only go so far. And if you walk long enough on that one leg, you will realize the need for the other leg. Truth can be useful in this regard. You are always free to live without truths, but there will come a time when things won't make sense anymore, and if you nurtured your truth earlier, then you can pull it out, and it will serve as your second leg. If you didn't nurture it as you should, then it will work in you like you never expected.
Why do bad things happen to good people?
Bad things happen to all people. The attention we give to bad things is where the problem lies. Truth is the blanket when we need it, and it's the bridge to help us overcome the bad things that happen to us. The hurt we experience becomes much more painful the longer we live without our truths. Your worst day might last longer than most, but the truth is waiting to reinspire you again.
We will explore further in part 11.
Follow me for more, and I’ll take you on a journey. https://medium.com/@thekajangu