This blog will be for current and/or former LIFE in the middle participants, as well as anyone else that is looking for practical ways to improve his or her attitude, relationships, perspective, knowledge base, or life in general. It will be the medium through which people can access LIFE in the middle's correlated materials, such as video clips, instructor reflections, books related to class topics, interaction/relational models, links to other websites, etc. Look for new information to be posted frequently, particularly following class sessions. Understand, however, that I am solely responsible for the site's content and that any statements, artwork, videos, and/or other materials found herein do not represent the views of any other person or organization, including any of my employers. Having said that, I hope you find the information that is and will soon be available here helpful as you strive to create a real LIFE that is happy, healthy, and productive. Best wishes.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

#9: The Truth about Truth

We ended our class on Friday with a discussion of what truth is, what it is not, and how we can find it. We defined truth as "a knowledge of things as they really are." We concurred that it is constant, not variable. Truth is not a product of individual or societal subjectivity; rather, it transcends time and circumstance. We also agreed that truth can be found in a wide array of disciplines and places and that it is never out of harmony with itself—various elements of truth that we may encounter will always fit together. If this seems in any particular instance to be untrue (that is, if two ideas seem to be both true and in competition with one another), it is for one of two reasons: either one of the ideas is not really true, or our understanding of one or both of these ideas is incomplete.

We also discussed that an individual cannot possess both the spirit of fear and the spirit of truth at the same time; that is, we cannot find the truth if we are afraid of it. Author Jack Christianson has written:
"The truth about any subject ... is not an easy taskmaster. It requires us to look at the issues as they 'really are and as they really will be,' not just as they may appear on the surface. Truth, if we do not fear it, may cause us to change our opinions, admit that we may have been wrong in the past, or accept something that previously rubbed us the wrong way .... Truth about [anything] in life is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It can be found. It is available to all who do not fear it" (The Power of Music, pp. 14-15, 32).

One early 20th-century writer has offered this timeless insight about the search for truth and the aforementioned fallacy of the subjectivity of truth:
"The search for truth means that the individual must not merely follow truth as he sees it, but he must ... search to see that he is right" (William George Jordan, The Power of Truth, p. 17).
Thus, it is not enough to be true to what we believe. We must seek to learn the actual truth, and then to harmonize our lives—our thoughts, words, and actions—with that which we know to be true. This is the key to finding real LIFE in the middle of a world of confusion and competition. We must be true to the truth. William Jordan has suggested a motto for life, which I submit to you as my personal goal: "Truth above all things" (The Power of Truth, p. 13). I challenge you to make this your goal as well, and I promise you that your happiness will increase in proportion with your efforts to learn and live the truth.
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