Yikes, talk about a loaded question!
It's the type of question that starts arguments around the dinner table or kills conversations when you're out with friends.
It seems especially hard to define truth during this period of human history.
We either valued individuality, self-expression, and autonomy so much that it seems there is no truth, just what we choose to believe.
Or we walk around thinking that we have a handle on the truth - that somehow we see things more clearly then others and that if only they would live by our truth aka THE truth, all would be right with the world.
Seeing truth in two different ways has helped clear this up for me.
First, there is world truth or absolute truth.
It's the type of thought or belief that is absolutely true for every single person on earth - without exception,
It is the type of truth that many religious books say is "written on our hearts."
There are very few of these, but an example would be love.
It wins every time.
You can not tell a story or repeat an incident without seeing that the more love that is inserted into the so try the better it is for all involved.
Forgiveness would be another absolute truth.
In situation of hurt and mistreatment, it is forgiveness that is the catalyst for healing.
The second type of truth is perspective truth.
It's what we think is right from our point of view.
There are as many perspective truths as there are people!
When you tell a story or repeat and incident looking for perspective truths you find more ideas and beliefs then you could possibly imagine.
The point of difficulty is that we walk around trying to convince others that our perspective truth should be their absolute truth!
So the next time you have a conversation with someone and their "truth" is different than yours ask yourself, "Is this a perspective truth, or a world truth?"
Instead of judgment or disagreement, or trying to convince others that you are "more right" relax, and open your heart - see what you can learn from their point of view!
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