There's a saying that goes "Truth is merely a perception." It probably means that what you think is the truth is actually your interpretation of things. Someone else's version of the truth may be different, and it is no less wrong than yours. And because of that, talking about the truth can lead to discord and misunderstandings.
The fact is, truth hurts. Most of the time anyway. When you want to talk about the truth, how do you know that it's really true? Is it based on an opinion you have? How do you know someone else doesn't have a different opinion about the subject matter and disputes your opinion? That's when you realise that you may have been wrong. You may find some things being revealed to you that you didn't know before, and it may hurt.
I had an argument with a couple of people today, about things that we have talked about before. I told them how I felt, and they responded in kind. I hated having that little blowout, but it was then that I realised how differently we see things. I still believe in the way I think, however. But this argument brought out all the things we had always wanted to say, which wasn't exactly nice to begin with. And at the end of it, the matter still isn't settled completely. It never is. I guess we're all too proud to give in and relent. Though we do, on occasion, for everyone's sake.
I have been in situations where revealing the truth isn't exactly the best idea. Sometimes it's better to let sleeping dogs lie. They say the truth shall set you free, but not always. The truth may open a Pandora's box, or the proverbial can of worms, so to speak. You get to find out some things you never knew, and you wonder if they were worth knowing in the first place. Makes you think if you really knew someone as well as you thought. Would it have been better if you believed the lie instead? That's certainly a dilemma.
But for me, this talk about truth has made me wonder about something else. What if my perception of some people I know is wrong? What if the truth is they're not who I think they are? Does that mean that my gift of judging someone's character accurately is waning? That is truly disconcerting for me. I can't afford to risk that. I'll just have to do better.
2 comments:
What if it's not that they are not what you thought they would be like, but it's the other way around, that you tried too hard to see something in them that they cannot be. I think sometimes you are a little too idealistic and you expect the best from other people, isn't that true? When people disagree with you and have a different opinion, or when they tell you they don't have time for you although they call themselves friends of yours, does that mean they are "different" from what you thought?
Not sure what this discussion was about, but you shouldn't try too hard I think. Be a little tolerant with the things that happen, don't demand too much from the people around you, they are the way they are, no matter how much or how little you see in them, and their true character, no matter how you will judge it in the end, will show. That's the truth.
I do think that truth as we perceive it is subjective, because it's not up to us (humans) to see the whole truth. Only of very few things can we say that they are true, for example when you have three apples and you eat one of them, you have two left. That is what we call true. But there's also a truth beyond that. Another example is how you can see the truth and how I can see it. Let's say you think of me as a great person but then you find out I don't always have time for you. You would think "damn, why does he ignore me, he's not what I thought he would be" while I just think "I knew I wouldn't always have time for him, but I didn't change, it's just that it's always been part of me that I can't be too sacrificing and need time for myself too". That's two sides of seeing the truth.
Sokrates would say that you can only approach the truth, but you can't achieve the state of knowing the truth. So you should always try to see things from as many perspectives as possible, especially the ones that are not to your liking.
Enough said.
truth i slike normal
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