Truth
To live with truth and reality.
It’s brutally early. I woke up at 5 and haven’t been able to fall asleep again. Now, an hour later dawn has broken, and the world feels somewhat more welcoming to wake up to. Morning light has that serene beauty that is hard to describe, it can only be experienced. Slowly. Silently.
My mind spins. Well, it was spinning at 5 and it’s still on speed (my coffee next to me is most likely going to make this even worse). My mind spins and it’s stuck on ideas of trust and truth. So many of our decisions are based on information we decide is “real”, trustworthy – “the truth”. But how you know that the subjective truth you hear, is the true truth and not what your own mind leads you to believe? I’m wondering since we’re constantly bombarded with information that we need to compart and relate to. Fake news, conspiracies and crime is mixed with science, beliefs and philosophy. Add personal beliefs and emotions to the mix and it becomes somewhat impossible to find a universal truth that is safe and sound.
“Truth is one of the central subjects in philosophy. It is also one of the largest. Truth has been a topic of discussion in its own right for thousands of years”, writes Professor of Philosophy Michael Glanzberg.[1] Many would argue truth or verity is the property of being in accord with fact or reality. If so, then what is real? Since my coffee is now gone, I keep diving deep into this rabbit hole. The reality of planetary issues is not for me to solve, but it is for each and one of us to understand. Wikipedia reads; “Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within the universe, as opposed to that which is only imaginary, nonexistent or nonactual. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, reality is the totality of a system, known and unknown.”
The wordings are not easy to make sense of. Reality is what is real – not what is imagined. However, reality can be both known and unkown. Then, an imagined unkown subject is as real as the mug I have in front of me. Following this thought, if all is real, then all is true. And if all is true, it’s going to be a hell of a lot harder for us to reach a collective understanding of how to live, what to do and which pathways that seem wise to take.
It's already 7 o’clock, I need to run! Leave these thoughts behind. Leave this real world, and head towards the one I imagine will wait for me outside my door. I guess the wise thing to do is to enjoy the reality I’m in. The truths are mine to create within my mind, I shape them and form them to fit my existence and what I want the world to look and feel like. Not great you might argue. You can’t make up your own truths, you say. What if you’re wrong, you propose? Yes, what if I am. Yet, even if the reality within me, is a different reality than within you, I believe our realities can meet in a wonderful potion of existential meaning. It’s where our realities meet that magic lies.
