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03/20/10
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February
26, 2007 Truth isn't taught and isn't learned, because it's not knowledge: If one desires a teacher of truth, the most qualified to be found is nature herself, who requires keen observation and thoughtful contemplation, as well as cautious experimentation, on the part of the student. Truth is Tao: more than a rock, it's an infinite number of shifting grains of sand in myriad sizes and shapes -- some keeping pace with the seconds, others with ages or eternities. Truth is not a superhighway, but a lonely and meandering path because there are endless possible points to explore -- the superhighway was built to bypass all but a popular few. Truth is the great reconciler of facts that at first glance can seem contradictory: the astute seeker sees that while it's wise to build his house upon solid rock, it's probably unwise to chain himself or tether his dreams to a rock because he's built a house there. Truth is beyond being a sun: it's a perpetual procession of rays moving in all directions as well; rays that are capable of being reflected, repeatedly redirected, and finally absorbed; rays which when examined individually may display all the gorgeous hues of a rainbow. Some may insist on seeing truth always as a matter of black and white, and even dispute the allowance of shades of gray: does that entitle them to paint the world black and white for others who truly see it -- or who'd experience their lives -- in full, glorious color? Truth may be both a starting point for the seeker as well as his intended destination, and a traveling companion along the way -- or it may seem continually elusive. It may be like a glass in his hand that always seems half-empty, or a lens through which he strives to keep his eyes focused because without it he's aware of how inevitably poor his vision is. Truth isn't an ocean, but a countless array of freely flowing and continually combining water particles comprising a vast network of seas, rivers, lakes, puddles, clouds, etc. Truth can be grasped fleetingly, like a jet of water -- but the man who puts a bucket out to contain it will likely soon have a putrid pail of muck best suited for breeding pestilence. Truth quizzes her lovers: Might there be wisdom in believing oneself ignorant? Or might there be folly in believing oneself to be wise? Can an individual's spiritual faith as readily be based in love for truth, as upon uncritical acceptance of tradition or religious dogma? Truth might point out that what harms may also heal, and vice versa; that what is right or good in one situation, may be wrong or bad under another set of circumstances; that what one man chooses freely may be another's loathed ball-and-chain, and vice versa, so what is proper and pleasing to one may become deadly and destructive when forced on others. Truth is the great anti-propagandist. "Here," she'll whisper smilingly, "I've cast the many tiny pieces of a mind-bogglingly huge jigsaw puzzle to the winds. YOU may find enough pieces to try to put the big picture together -- have fun -- I dare you!" Truth can't be bought or sold: it's a medium of exchange between belief and actuality, or folly and wisdom; truth's facility rests not in the palm but in the transaction itself. Truth doesn't reside in a book, yet it may be found there -- by means of the passage of thought from one mind to another through the written page. It might be said that gold isn't money until it's used as such: unused, it's savings or wealth or treasure … but is it truly money? Truth can make small things great, and great things small; it can make bright things dull, and dull things bright; it can make a lie seem frank, or forthrightness seem misleading. Everything I've said here about truth may be false, because I've attempted to capture an "essence" of truth as I grasp it. Whether truth is seen or not seen in anything, like the tale of "The Emperor's New Clothes," might say much about the seer: after all, the Emperor might be perceived as spectacularly wrapped up in something -- even if that something was clearly his own vain imagination, or misplaced belief in his tailor.
Catfarmer has her own website too! Lots of interesting things to see. |
Declaration of Interdepen-dence Conversational Knives and Daggers Politics Causes Brain Damage, Scientists Claim Home Cooking Outlawed for Child Safety (with Bob Wallace) It Takes a Grinch to Ban Christmas First, Suppose You Might Be Wrong… Complete Archives for Catfarmer |
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