Tuesday, November 3, 2009

What Does Truth Have To Do With It?


He has been officially separated from his wife and even lives in another state. He comes into town every weekend to visit the kids and spends the weekends on the driveway or in the garage (where he is allowed to be). The kids don’t want to be around him, they blame him for everything. He doesn’t know that we know about it. He still pretends that he is commuting back and forth and that the house is theirs and everything is ok. I don’t say anything one way or the other, I don’t want to intrude and I don’t want to be drawn into the drama. I go along with his stories even though I have heard the ugly version from his wife. This is a story of someone I casually know and spending the weekend listening to him tell his story to others, I realized how much he still might believe it to be true.

He made me think about the stories I exchange with others. Once we repeat the same story over and over, we believe it too. It’s what politicians do best, it is what churches and other religious institutions have done for centuries, it is what corporations do (except their disgruntled employees know otherwise, and spread their own stories. But the corporations are more powerful and can spread their stories more efficiently and can reach a wider audience), it’s what families and cultures do, and on and on it goes. In fact, when we get together with people, it provides the perfect opportunity to exchange our stories. He tells his story, we tell ours, or someone else’s whose story we like, and pretty soon by the end of the gathering we leave more convinced that our story is indeed true, especially if others bought into it and we even have some fresh stories that we can spread around.

In my neighborhood, the common story is about H1N1 vaccinations. Having two school aged kids, I admit, I get sucked right into it. We all share our knowledge about the latest whether it be which pediatrician is giving them out to which towns have been inoculated to conspiracy theories, etc. We are all concerned about our children’s health and probably our own too. We are frustrated with the fact that there is no clear communication about where and when we can get vaccinated. We are unclear about how serious this threat is. In summary, we don’t have enough information. And because it might be a matter of life and death (especially when we listen to the nightly news and hear about the town next to ours who had the latest fatality, etc.), we go into fear mode. This is the perfect environment for creating drama to feed into our fears. The feeding keeps the fear alive and strong, it makes us be right, so it feeds into our self-righteousness, we keep on talking and obsessing about it, we attract those who might not have been afraid, and it keeps on getting bigger and bigger. At this point, we are willing to lie, cheat and steal to get the vaccine, which I am afraid I am seeing happen in my neighborhood.

So, what happened to the truth? And does it matter? At this stage in the game, you have chaos and fear together hand in hand with extremely strong convictions and delusions about matters of life and death of young children! This is an extremely dangerous concoction that could easily get out of control. I know with my neighbors, that no one at this stage is really interested in the truth. They just want the vaccine. Going back to my friend with his delusions about his life and marriage, I wonder how interested he is in the truth. Once you live inside the stories that you have created, you have no reason to be interested in what may be considered as neutral and disarming. From my perspective, accepting a failed marriage and visiting the kids at the court appointed times is a lot easier to handle than travelling back and forth every weekend, sitting in a cold rental car, waiting for kids who don’t want to see you, and lying to everyone you meet. On the other hand, his choice of lifestyle is more exciting, complicated, exhausting, and sure to draw sympathy from whomever might know the truth. He also gets to avoid the pain that he might feel if he accepted his role in the dissolution of their marriage. And as a bonus, there is the possibility that she might feel sorry for him one day and let him come inside and his story would be true after all.

Whether we are living inside our human-made stories in our personal lives, or out there in mass consciousness which is fed by us, the media, and all of our friends and families, we are separated from the truth. We believe what we want to believe, and we have done it enough times that we believe that it is the truth. We spend our lives proving our stories to be true and because everyone else is doing it too, we have no reason to stop. The only time we stop is when we are tired of the drama, we are in search of the truth, or our story got so out of hand that we got called on it. So, the next time you find yourself convinced of something that does not bring you peace of mind/heart/soul and body, ask yourself if it is true. Is it true that you have to do whatever it is you are doing, is it true that the government is out to get you, is it true that your life is going to end if you leave your job, your family, your (fill in the blank), is it true that she/he hates you, etc. Is it really true?

12 comments:

In the Light of the Moon said...

Thank you so much on another wonderful posts.I am open to learning.I have huge gratitude in my life,but my truths are at times embellished..perhaps to hide the ugliness I sometimes see in my heart.My selfishness...I'm a work in progress.This is the truth...Thank you..you sometimes need to say it,to claim it,once it's claimed,you can change it.
Warmest Regards,Cat

Sherry Bakhtian said...

Dear Cat,

We are all a work in progress and we are all trapped in our stories. Real life and living begins when we step out of those stories and see with new eyes. Those moments are amazing because we see colors, depths, and love like never before.

Thank you for sharing and blessings,
Sherry

Gabriela Abalo said...

It’s really true? Well as long as we believe it’s, then I assume it’s really true. Your friend, your neighbors, the community, you, me and all of us love to hide behind the drama, which disguises our real troubles, the ones we do not want to face. We are so busy trying to get distracted that at the end we forget who we really are!
No so many have the guts to stop and look inside themselves and accept what it is, as it is easier to look into someone else house or put the blame into someone else.
As usual, a great post dear Sherry.

loveNlight
Gabi

Sherry Bakhtian said...

Thanks Gabi! Yes, and we believe it because we have never questioned its validity. It's like a drug we are addicted to.

Love,
Sherry

Anonymous said...

Feeling are very deep at the time of putting your words. I'm very excited about what you wrote, because I identify very much with the dance of Truth, that we live in everything as in Family (Sister), Corporation ( coworkers who blame and perceive what ever they want, I'm tired,(I'm work in one)and relation with others.

For a while I was on mute. They got used to tell his truths and they are believed. Now I don't know how to fix this situation, since I have been very passive in this regard.

Also, we are surrounded by our own perceptions about the world and not give a chance to see other points of view on reality. Other times, we entered into a system where there is a group of people with some power who are accustomed to seeing things their way, and if your place otherwise you who missed these and are wrong.

And they act like children, who want the crown of his way is the true and real.

It is necessary to limit all of these situations, but there is also the responsibility, for this requires much patience to get through the stage and courageous move to another stage more pleasant.

I'm very agreed with you "So, the next time you find yourself convinced of something that does not bring you peace of mind/heart/soul and body, ask yourself if it is true."

Bravo!!

MIT

Sherry Bakhtian said...

Dear MIT,

So glad this post resonated with what you are experiencing. If we stay with the truth, we are free from fear. Not too easy!

Thanks,
Sherry

In the Light of the Moon said...

I would like to pass on the creativ blogger award to you Sweet Sherry.Check out yesterday posting.Warmest Regards,Cat

Sherry Bakhtian said...

Hi Cat,

Thanks for passing it on. I guess this means that I have to come up with 7 random facts about myself. Seven is a lot!

1) I am amazed by the capacity to love. Just when I think my heart can't be more open and I can't possibly love any more, I surprise myself.
2) I adore dogs with smushed faces (bulldogs, pugs, Bostons, etc).
3) I love the color of everything in Italy. The sun is so warm and everything looks and feels richer there.
4) My connection with art is through color. I see colors in my head (with my eyes closed) that I do not see with my eyes open.
5)I love Depeche Mode and their music. In fact, I've been to all their concerts since 1985.
6)I have a love/hate relationship with my hair.
7) Finally, I hate humidity (this is related to random fact #6)

Thanks for passing this on to me!

Sherry

Concord Carpenter said...

Inspiring post! thanks for sharing.

Sherry Bakhtian said...

Thanks for visiting, come back again!

Warmly,
Sherry

Anonymous said...

I found this theard while searching "what does truth have to do with it". Very interesting post. Is not truth in the eye of the beholder? We live in a culture that expects us to "hide" or make our own truth. If we did not we would become an outcast. When I am asked How are you??? You, who ask does not want an answer, right? It is being polite and so in responce I give you the truth you seek. On and on we go until we do not know what we don't even know. Lost souls not even knowing that the God of truth who formed us in His Image "Image of Truth" desires to really know from deep inside us "How are you really".

And the search goes on.

Mark

Sherry Bakhtian said...

Dear Mark,

Thank you for your comment. You have explained how a simple hello and "how are you" is also a lie. Yes, we live in a web of lies and yet the truth is very simple and not as hidden as might seem.

Warmly,
Sherry