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Truth - The Beauty of the Heart

2/21/2021

7 Comments

 
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"In a world full of lies and deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
- Unknown
Have you noticed how surprised, sometimes even shocked, we feel when children tell it how it is?
'"to tell it how it is"

To speak bluntly, directly, and truthfully, even if what is being said is undesirable to the listener.
The most interesting thing is that we also feel amused as it is refreshing to us, adults, to witness such an unusual event. We might even feel grateful to that little man or woman for speaking the truth out loud.

For years, I have been asking myself the following questions:

Why do we make our children 'grow out of' being totally honest and frank?
What do we gain, in the long run, by being falsely polite and letting things continue as usual when a word of truth would set things right?
What are we afraid of when we avoid speaking out, and does that end up bringing about the results we hoped for?

We all know that in a long run it does not, and more often than not, it makes things worse, much worse.

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“The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. "One word of truth outweighs the world.”
― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn
So why do we keep doing it?

Are we afraid of the punishment?
Is it the fear of abandonment or of losing control?
Are we afraid that our popularity, social or professional status might suffer as a result?
Is it the lack of courage because we know that to really stand up for truth might put us in jail or even cost us our lives?

“To stand up for truth is nothing. For truth, you must sit in jail.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Candle in the Wind
At what cost to ourselves, our loved ones and the rest of the world do we abandon telling the truth and allow the lies to live on unchallenged?
How does it erode our integrity and trustworthiness, and most importantly, what harm does it cause to our hearts?

As a kid, when I was caught lying, my late Mother used to tell me that the most ugly truth is better than a beautiful lie. I did not understand it then, but now I get it.

By bringing the truth to light, we illuminate the darkness.
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I have since learned that we become skilled at finding reasons to justify our lies. The most "beautiful" of the lies are those we tell ourselves in order to justify lying as a means to not hurting the feelings of others, or doing good for others.
“It is in the nature of the human being to seek a justification for his actions.”
― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956
I also learned that each time we stay silent in the face of a lie, or any injustice for that matter, we lose a piece of our beautiful hearts and die a little on the inside. In the end, we end up brokenhearted, walking like zombies with bodies still alive, but with hearts on life support ready to pop at any moment.
Our heart is rooted in the Universal Source. It is the fountain of beauty and all that is good and true, and it needs to stay open.
Only truth, however ugly and painful, can liberate us from inner and outer deceit of any kind, as it cuts through the lies like a scalpel and speaks directly to the heart. It opens the door to understanding, rights the wrongs and ultimately results in healing, and that is what makes it truly beautiful.

What do you know? Mom was right after all. ;)

“You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.”
― Alexandr Solzhenitsyn
7 Comments
Sumalee Kraisuwan
2/21/2021 07:54:57 pm

Another great blog!!! Me too - i’d rather not say anything instead of lying. It’s depend though. If I care about that person, I will tell them the truth even if it will hurt them. But I will pick the right time.

Reply
Wellness Through Adventure
2/22/2021 09:18:33 am

Thank you for sharing, Sumalee.
You are a wise one. I am still working on the art of the right timing. :)

Deep deep inside I know that caring for truth ought to be our priority as truth will take care of everyone and everything else.

Reply
Paolina
2/21/2021 08:15:09 pm

Freak'n excellent Lidia! And that darling little boy drew me right into the narrative...
I am so glad you courageously dove into the difficulty we face, at this point in history, in discerning the truth. I would like to first understand the classical methodology, and then INTERNALIZE that process to be able to separate the wheat from the floss..
PS: I believe the quote about speaking truth being a revolutionary act is, in fact, from Orwell.

Reply
Wellness Through Adventure
2/21/2021 09:04:49 pm

Thank you for the feedback, Paolina.

I also was under the impression that Orwell was the original author of "In a Time of Universal Deceit — Telling the Truth Is a Revolutionary Act", but after some digging, I found the following site https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/02/24/truth-revolutionary/ and according to their investigation into the origin of the quote, Orwell most likely did not say it. Below is a copy of their conclusion:

"In conclusion, based on current evidence George Orwell probably did not employ this saying. The quote was attributed to Orwell in its earliest known appearance in 1982. The expression evolved into a handful of variants, but the ascription to Orwell was preserved. The origin is unclear, but it is possible that the statement began as a proposed summary of Orwell’s position, and it was later incorrectly converted into a quotation. This article represents a snapshot of what is known, and QI hopes that other researchers will be able to build on this information in the future."

Reply
Winnie T.P.
2/24/2021 10:22:28 pm

Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake.

Reply
wellness through adventure
2/25/2021 11:37:32 am

Thanks for the feedback, Winnie. Point taken.

Reply



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