What is truth? This question has plagued scholars and philosophers since the beginning of time. What is truth? How does one actually answer that question? One could spend a thousand lifetimes seeking and searching and never really know truth. At least, that is what the world wants us to think! Truth is not complicated; in fact, the biggest lie perpetrated by man is the one that tells us that truth hides from us. Really! That’s how people want to live? Denying that they have a nose on their face and toes on their feet? Open your eyes! You know that you have to breathe air to survive and that you lay your head down to sleep when you are tired. There is no secret to what truth is. Truth is all around us in the things that we see, feel, hear, and touch. Truth is the common sense understanding that people ought not to treat others unfairly. Truth tells us that we should love and cry, and truth tells us right from wrong. Truth gives us eyes to see.
The absence of truth is blindness, staggering around without hope, purpose, or concern. The question is not “What is truth?” The question is, “Do we want to live with the consequences of truth?” No philosopher or scholar has ever struggled with the undying question of rather we actually have a nose or toes. Truth is recognized through common sense, but it is hidden through complicated deception when its message gets in our way. The problem with accepting truth is that there are huge consequences. Truth is easy to find; a thief knows that he is wrong, and even a child knows injustice when they see it. Oh, but who really wants to live with truth?Truth is a nasty companion, always telling us what and what not to do. For most of us, truth is not welcome in our lives because we would rather live our own way. Truth is so simple, so common, that its message can’t help but be understood. But we don’t like the message. Truth tells us to love, but we want to hate. Truth tells us to walk a higher path, but we all prefer to stalk in the tall grasses of the valley. Truth tells us to care, but we would rather throw away common sense than take the time to stop and help a stranger. No matter how good we think we are, we all hide the truth from ourselves. We all have our inner secrets.
Truth is not simply a matter of living as a good person. We all make mistakes. Truth is about understanding; it is about opening our eyes and stepping out of the fog. But most of us don’t really want that. We would prefer to believe in our own man-made, suit-yourself, made-to-order form of truth. Real truth holds us accountable and real truth says there is only one way to live a worthy life. Real truth is unwavering in its convictions. So, we turn our heads and overt our eyes, silently asking, “What is Truth” and pretending that we don’t know the answer.
