Facts & Truths

Facts might be true but are they Truth?

     If I posit Truth, I posit an absolute of which I can only ever presume to be what it is - much like the old story of the blind mice which experienced different parts of an elephant.  So, wherein is Truth?  Can it be discovered?  Is there an "elephant"?

    There is comfort in Truth but that comfort resides within the one perceiving the Truth as it appears to be.  Thus, one's comfort seems to reside amidst one's own perceptions.  Let's investigate an individual's truth.  To determine whether it is Truth, one must take an objective observation of a great sample of people to seek out where similarities, aberrations, & oppositions might occur when set up against one's own paradigm.  This examination grants an opportunity to test alternative perceptions to see if they hold any water - any substance.  

    If there be aberrations or oppositions, the truth inferred cannot be Truth absolute.  Further, if I test the truth of another and then alter my truth in accordance, my truth obviously changes.  One must always stand guard against individuals out to sell their truth.  Ever wonder why some programs never fully appear to be a "one size fits all" program; or, is it just me?  While there may be good advice proffered in any program, there's always something more - or something new - that seems to have been overlooked.  The programs to watch out for are the ones where the blame seems to be set upon the adherent for lack of success.  While some strategies may be more effective & pragmatic than others, nobody can fully tell another being how to be - or who to be - for they are not them.

    Life seems volatile when one goes out to discover what their own truth is - as opposed to the truth baked into their upbringing.  Cultural & religious "truths" hold a great monopoly over a society.  Coming out of these "truths" is the most difficult thing to do yet seems to be of necessity if one ever seeks harmony with one's self.  Why is harmony with one's self so paramount?  Only then, can one decide what one's truth is.  But, of course, finding one's truth presupposes finding one's self - and that is a whole other topic.

    What of facts?  We are inundated in the Information Age.  So much so, that we can find a fact regarding just about anything literally at the tips of our thumbs!  Yet, it seems that those facts are so often distorted.  While I allow that there are conscious distortions of facts to woo the minds of a society, shall we chalk it all up to that alone?  Or, can it be said that some distortions are unconscious inferences based upon subjective narratives?

    It is claimed that many of our memories are often somewhat inaccurate.  Paper trails are imperative for this very reason - the documentation nearest a particular event is most often deemed more reliable than one presented at a later time. In some of our memories, we can set ourselves as the main character in someone else's story and believe it to have actually occurred.  Everybody is searching for patterns. But, patterns of what?  Ways to tell their story.

    My story is my ontology.  My story - aside from merely my thoughts - gives me a reason for being.  It gives me reason for being on this planet, in this country, & at this moment in time.  It reinforces my existence to none other than myself.  Thus, as my states of mind are not stagnant, my story can easily shift based upon any contemporaneous emotion I may experience.  If I'm mad, I create a narrative for my anger.  If I am happy, I'll create a narrative for that, as well.  We are a people who have for millennia been story-driven!  

    Any existential moment in my life can be the conclusion of any set of events which have occurred or which I believe to have occurred; but that paradox comes in the mere fact that this conclusion is not even the conclusion - unless, of course, I have died!  Moreover, if I have died, my story goes on to be told by those who knew me based upon their own experiences of me.  Some will have good things to say.  Others?  Not so good.   Isn't this the reason for the tradition of the Eulogy:  Isn't it not only for the people who knew the deceased well but also for those who never had a close relationship with them?

    However, my endings, for as long as I am alive, are mere beginnings for something else - something more.  And, I will take each moment as representative for what I have or have not accomplished.  Facts are there yet they mean little without somebody to thread a narrative about them.  

    Best sellers exist because their narratives are presented and resonate with many people.  But, does that make their narratives the Truth?  Resonance is not necessarily Truth.  Resonance requires an echo chamber and a path of least resistance.  Thus, the truths of others bend towards & grant credence to the will of one.  Oh, how easily we can manipulate our narratives to fit that of certain talking heads.  This is where the danger of the loss of Self lies.

    Facts may be true.  Nevertheless, they are not Truth.  We bend the facts towards our truths.  Is it possible for a society to rest on fact alone?  Wherein does innovation lie but within the truths of others?  We work together in that each person can see the world under a different scope than their neighbor.  When I unmoor myself from a belief in an Absolute Truth, I find myself learning how to guide my ship through my experiences and thus adventure into uncharted territory.