Truth

We as internet users are being inundated with information like never before. With this comes the need to be able discern what is true and what leaves a little to be desired in the truth department. If you're well informed, the truth is usually pretty easy to discern. It has a certain feeling associated with it, it sounds better than falsehood. This is why they say that some things "ring true" where as other things don't. In order to become our best, we want to come from a place of truth; through our speech and through our actions.

They say that the truth shall set you free, and I believe this; truly I do. Judge Judy has a great phrase that she tells her courtroom parties when she senses that what they're telling her may not be 100% based in fact. She says, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to have a good memory." What she's saying is that when we only go on the facts, we don't have to worry about keeping our story straight while trying to manufacture a tale that "sounds good." This is liberating, because all you need to do in life is simply recall what actually took place instead of trying to "spin" or bend the truth to put our side in the best light. If our case isn't strong enough based on the merits, then it probably isn't really going to stand up anyhow.

The best thing about the truth, is that it is what it is. Winston Churchill has a couple of quotes (probably more) about truth. He states, "The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is." This alludes to the ultimate resilience of truth. If you make truth the cornerstone of your moral fibre, it makes the rest of life's principles all that much easier to follow through on. Churchill also warns us that, "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." This is a warning to not fall into the trap where many people find themselves. Honesty has seemingly become so irrelevant, that people don't even realize that duplicity has become embedded in their moral fibre. They simply gloss over the facts and continue right on living without paying any heed.

There's a good possibility that I've butchered Winston's original meaning here (especially with respect to the latter). But truth be told, that is what the essesnce of the quote is saying to me. Perhaps it's time for us all to take a look around and give the information we're being bombarded with a litmus test. Does it sound right? If it doesn't sound right, it probably isn't true.