Will the Truth Truly Set You Free?
I believe that the truth sets you free. But what IS the truth?
Long ago, I came to this notion: There are three brands of truth. Mine, yours, and the absolute.
The truth, as I perceive it, is colored by my life experiences, education, environment, associations, and the imperfection of memory. Just because I remember something having been a certain way doesn’t make it so. But the truth, as I believe it to be – no matter the topic – is colored thus.
The truth, as you perceive it. is colored by your life experiences, education, environment, associations, and the imperfection of memory. Just because you remember something having been a certain way doesn’t make it so. But the truth, as you believe it to be – no matter the topic – is colored thus.
The absolute can be totally hidden and unrecognizable. That’s because, apart from here and now, memory is faulty and colored by the above-mentioned things. It’s for this reason that people can believe in things that are proven to be untrue in the absolute – like the Earth being flat, vaccines containing microchips, evolution being unprovable, and the like.
So, if the absolute of is such a challenge to recognize – how can it set you free?
By recognizing the fluidity of truth, and that what you cling to might not be.
Also – sometimes the truth is not important in the long run. That knowledge also sets you free.
When the truth is less important
Many an argument is over whose truth is right.
I’ve had many arguments that were all about trying to prove myself right. It doesn’t matter what the argument was over or who it was with – it was all about my attempt to prove that I was right, and they were wrong.
Or in other words – to prove my truth was right and theirs was wrong.
But a huge part of the problem with these arguments is that meeting in the middle can be challenging. And sometimes impossible. Because there are plenty of times when the absolute variation of the truth is nowhere near where you or I are at.
That’s part of the problem when it comes to the truth. My truth might be ‘x’, yours might be ‘y’. But the absolute is ‘q’.
Sometimes getting to the absolute truth isn’t worth it. Why? Because in the long run, it doesn’t matter. You fight so hard to be right and legitimize your truth that you lose sight of much more important matters.
What’s more – unless the other person cares to change, desires to change, or wants to change – they won’t. Now I’m not saying that if they’re expressing their ignorance on a given matter you shouldn’t point out where and how they’re wrong. But know recognize and acknowledge – for yourself – when the truth is not the point.
Usually, this is around interpersonal relationships. When you stand against those you love for the sake of your truth – which might or might not be different from the absolute – you foment conflict that can hurt both of you.
And only you know if it’s worth it or not when all’s said and done.
The worthiness of fighting for a truth isn’t a direct reflection of your worth, however.
You are worth it even if it’s not
There are definitely times it’s worth sticking to and fighting for your truth.
You, and only you, know who, what, how, where, and why you are. Ultimately, only you can ever know that. No matter how much you let others in – you’re the only one in your head, heart, and soul.
If you are defending your identity via your truth – then that’s worthy of you. For example, if you were born male but identify as female, that’s a truth worth fighting for.
When you’re fighting for something unimportant, or just for the sake of being right or winning an argument – is it really of value to you? For example – if you’re arguing over whose turn it is to do the dishes – and you’re certain you’re right that it’s not yours – is it all that important for you to win this argument?
Your mental health, wellness, and wellbeing are the most important things you have. Yet it never ceases to amaze me how often they get neglected, taken for granted, or given away.
When you are running on empty, you limit what you can give. What’s more, it’s a lot easier to wind up arguing about something that doesn’t truly matter. Petty things that are not important are easy to blow out of proportion.
And that is part of the truth. The truth that truth is subjective – surprisingly often – can set you free. How? Because you stop clinging to a notion of lesser import.
This is a matter of mindfulness, accountability, and responsibility.
Mindfulness is freedom
When you are mindful, you’re consciously aware. Conscious awareness is a product of the here and now. By being present, consciously aware here and now, you take control over your life experience.
That control empowers you. That empowerment shows you who, what, where, how, and why you are right here and now. And with that, you can choose what fights are worth your time and energy – and that truth ultimately sets you free.
When you’re accountable for your thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions, you choose what to pursue. Or not. So, you can decide if fighting for your truth versus theirs versus the absolute is of value and worth to you – or not.
After that, you can choose to be responsible, and state your peace and walk away, stand your ground and fight for your truth, or leave it be and move on. Or – because there is an or here – some combination of all the above.
Mindfulness, accountability, and responsibility for your truth – in light of theirs and the absolute – help you choose to face the positive or negative end of the given spectrum of whatever topic is up for debate. And that can be truly freeing, don’t you think?
Ergo – the truth, no matter if it’s mine, yours, or the absolute – truly can set you free.
Recognizing how the truth can set you free isn’t hard
It’s all about working with mindfulness of your thoughts, feelings, and intentions to direct your actions.
When you recognize that the truth as you know it might or might not be aligned with the absolute, you gain insights as to whether it’s worth the time and effort to defend it. Knowing that the three brands of truth – mine, yours, and the absolute – can be worlds apart, you get to choose via mindfulness to stand with a truth, work with a truth, or walk away for the sake of your better health, wellness, and wellbeing.
This empowers you – and in turn, your empowerment can empower others around you. That can expand to change the bigger picture matters, too.
Choosing thoughts, feelings, actions, and intentions for yourself employs positivity for realizing amazing potential and possibilities for your life.
Taking an approach to positivity and negativity – from the vast cylinder that exists between them – shifts matters in a way to open more dialogue. In that form, you can explore and share where you are between the extremes and how that impacts you here and now.
Lastly, the better aware you are of yourself in the now, the more you can do to choose and decide how your life experiences will be. When that empowers you, it can also open those around you to their own empowerment.
To me, that’s a worthwhile endeavor to explore and share.
Thank you for coming along on this journey.
This is the four hundred-and-sixty-second entry of my Positivity series. I hope that these weekly messages might help spread positive energies for everyone. Feel free to share, re-blog, and spread the positivity.
Please visit here to explore all my published works – both fiction and non-fiction.
Please take a moment to sign up for my newsletter. Fill in the info and click the submit button to the right and receive a free eBook.
Follow me here!
