Can you handle the truth? Is the truth too often too difficult to handle for you? Do you become offensive, defensive, and irritated when you face the truth?
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
~ Jesus, from John 8:32 of the New Testament
We need to be comfortable with the truth to better understand the world around us and ourselves. Only when we know the truth, we can make skillful and informative decisions that are important for our future. As soon as we become comfortable with the truth, we will avoid some of the potholes that come along in life. Not knowing makes us comfortable at times but it restricts us as well.
Why We Can’t Handle the Truth?
The list of reasons behind this question is long. One of the reasons is that most of us have difficulties perceiving the truth. We tend to consciously or unconscionably ignore the truth. At the times, we see it but it bothers us, and more than often the truth is highly uncomfortable.
Facing the truth can lead to anxieties, and we are trying to avoid fears and anxieties that we can comfortably ignore in order to stay comfortable.
Can you handle the truth? Or do you hide from it?
So, Can You Handle the Truth?
The big questions in life are often uncomfortable. Here, we should be mindful that we are talking about the truth regarding the present moment and the past. We are not talking about predications and gut feelings that something is right or wrong. We are exclusively talking about the truth of what happened, what does it mean (if anything), and what is happening now. How do we feel? What are our thoughts?
We are not talking about big questions as: “Will I succeed in life?” What is the truth? Some have a gut feeling they will and some have a gut feeling that they won’t succeed. The answer to this question doesn’t matter. What matters is the question: “Am I working hard to succeed in life?” Some have a gut feeling that they do and some that they don’t, while many are stuck in between, ignoring the truth.
We do make predictions based on available information, however, we should focus on the available information in order to see the truth. The main thing is focusing on the root cause of the issue so you can benefit from the truth.
The Truth About the Truth
Our ancestors’ survival and reproduction depended on knowing the truth. They didn’t need to know quantum physics to survive but they knew that jumping off a cliff would probably end badly.
They didn’t know anything about Schrodinger’s Cat and whether it’s alive or dead is some quantum universe but they knew big cats are dangerous. Our ancestors could not survive without knowing the truth. That remains the same for us to some degree. “Stranger danger” is not a new phenomenon. Our ancestors were very much aware that strangers could be dangerous. For our ancestors, meeting a stranger could lead to serious danger. It could lead to the death of one’s family or the disappearance of the whole tribe. It’s safe to say they were more likely to experience that danger than we are in the 21st century. Still, we are cautious (as we should be) and we are teaching our children to be cautious about meeting strangers. Some things obviously will never change. That’s why we will never be able to completely ignore the truth and while we’re here we should learn how to handle the truth. Once we learn the benefits of the uncomfortable truth, we will embrace it no matter how uncomfortable it can be in the beginning.
