The Truth Must Out
Risky Shades of Grey…
I’ve always believed that the truth must be spoken. Even if it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient or brutal. It must come out sooner or later. Preferably sooner. I’d rather have an ugly truth than a beautiful lie. Fakery and flattery is such a waste of time! In these times of increasing censorship, a lot of people would rather live in ignorant bliss amidst pretty little (or big!) lies rather than face up to the unpleasant truth. Why is this? Why do we fear the truth so much?
Tell Me Sweet Little Lies
I’m a huge fan of the work of Carl Jung. He spoke about individuation; our journey of evolution throughout life and how in order to become whole we need to develop our conscious awareness of our own shadow aspects. Those parts of ourselves we neglect, disown and deny because they are disruptive to our view of ourselves and our identity. They shatter our beliefs and our status quo. This is a deeply painful and uncomfortable process yet one we must embark upon if we wish to evolve and grow into who we are truly capable of becoming.
In the long run, the most unpleasant truth is a safer companion than a pleasant falsehood.
- Theodore Roosevelt
As human beings we move towards pleasure and away from pain. That’s why it’s so counterintuitive for most of us to do shadow work and explore our psychological depths in any meaningful way unless we are forced to do so by the circumstances we find ourselves in. It’s only when things become so unbearable that we are left with no choice but to dive deep to clean up the mess and face ourselves.
Until then we are unconscious. When we are unconscious we love those sweet little lies. They are our truth. Until we wake up to see through the veil of illusions. That’s a painful awakening, but one that is a great gift as it will finally lead us to radical authenticity and self-acceptance.
Our Collective Journey
As a collective we are also on a journey of individuation as a species. Everything that applies to us on our individual journeys can also be applied to us collectively. Everything simply plays out on a much larger scale.
It’s worth keeping this in mind when we witness what is happening around us, in groups and on the world stage. Just like painful individual experiences can lead to growth and awakening for us individually, they do the same to us on a collective level. So how does this apply to truth?
An Inconvenient Truth
If you are unconscious, the truth is a very dangerous concept. One to be avoided at all costs. When one is not yet ready to receive the truth it is denied and repressed. When something is ‘ahead of its time’ it is often because it’s a deeper truth that has been accessed by a few individuals but the collective has not yet reached a stage where they are ready to embrace this truth. This is something we have seen again and again throughout history. When the collective catches up, the truth is embraced. Until then it is most often attacked. When the truth disrupts the status quo it will be met with disdain, fear and mistrust. It’s not just inconvenient, it’s a dangerous beast which must be tamed, contained and restrained at all costs.
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
- Arthur Schopenhauer
In some cases we may not know what the truth is. Some people believe it to be X and others believe it to be Y. So which one is it? Is it X or is it Y? Or perhaps it’s both, or neither? We don’t know. The only way we can truly know and to get as close to the truth as possible is to question everything, listen to all sides, not just the ones you agree with, and ultimately, once this has been done, listen deeply to ourselves; our inner guidance system, our intuition, our own sense of truth. That’s all we have to guide us. Yet if we embrace this powerfully, it’s enough. It’s more than enough. The main problem is most people are so disconnected from the self and their inner voice that the truth remains completely out of reach.
When you are disconnected from the self you are very easily swayed and manipulated. Other people’s version of the truth can become your truth. It is a lot easier to adopt someone else’s truth than to find your own.
So what can we do as a collective to get closer to the truth? Firstly, we must connect deeply with ourselves. We must do our own inner work to become as conscious and aware as possible. We must stop adopting everyone else’s truth as our own without healthy questioning. Don’t listen to your family, friends, the news cycle. Listen to yourself. Just because something is adopted as truth by the majority of people doesn’t mean it is in fact the truth or that it even resembles the truth remotely.
We must seek out information that contradicts ‘the truth’. We must listen to all sides objectively and set aside our desire to ‘be right’ or ‘fit in’ and instead become curious. Ask questions, do research, listen deeply. It’s through our connection to self that we can become connected to the truth both individually and collectively. Once you have found it, hold it deep within and trust it. Be prepared to keep growing, evolving and most importantly, questioning. There is no truth without questioning.
Become a Truth Seeker
Even though the sweet little lies keep us safe on a level they can never lead us to greatness. They keep us small and they keep us stuck. We must continue to seek the truth. We must have the courage to dive deep into the shadows and be honest about what resides there if we are to progress and evolve in any meaningful way, individually and collectively. Yet many of us resist doing this with all our being. When we resist the truth we are resisting ourselves. It’s time to be courageous and curious. There has never been a more important time for this than right now. It’s time to be a truth seeker.
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Love. Truth is the kindness and most revolutionary thing.
This leads me to think about the universal truth such as the planet is round vs our own individual truths which although different are still truths - what is true for you may not be for me - as is the case with religions. Very thought provoking and well written 🩵