Do You Really Want to Know the Truth?
Back in 1992, Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise co-starred in a
movie entitled A Few Good Men. The high point of the film, in my
view, was a classic, heated exchange between their characters,
during which Kaffee (the military attorney played by Cruise)
says: "I want the truth," and Col. Jessup (Nicholson) responds:
"You can't handle the truth."
The movie makes Jessup the villain. That's not surprising in a
courtroom drama that's based on finding the truth in order to
separate right from wrong. But the screenwriters could just have
easily turned it all around. If Jessup were editing the script,
he would have become the hero defending the American way of
life. Unlike Kaffee, who could only perceive truth through the
narrow perspective of precedent case law, he saw the bigger
picture. In his view, the rigidity of black-and-white morality
needed to be bent into shades of gray to serve the greater good.
The truth that Jessup perceived was well beyond Kaffee's ability
to handle. Kaffee's view of truth was far too limited to contain
the reality of Jessup's world. However what neither of them
could see was that "the truth" simply does not exist. There is
no universal, definitive Truth (with a capital "T"). The best
each of us can muster is our own version of truth, determined by
the point from which we choose to view reality. And our only sin
is in believing that others must join us in seeing things as we
do.
There have always been those among us who, claiming to speak
with the authority of God or on behalf of a totalitarian regime,
have advocated their version of Truth. These people -- not too
different in other ways from the rest of us -- became ensnared
by the assumed validity of their doctrines. Despite their
impressive robes or uniforms and their persuasive
pronouncements, they turned out to be little more than bigoted
bullies who historically have been astonishingly effective in
bending our minds and wills.
Perhaps, the time has come for us to think for ourselves. But
how can we when our minds are already made up? Someone has
already done all the thinking for us. And we, seeking the
blessings of our leaders and the safety of consensus,
continually nod in agreement. Besides, we enjoy being part of
our larger families and we seem to enjoy the comfort of singing
from a common hymnal.
The next time someone asks you for the truth, you might want to
think twice before answering. It takes far more courage to
venture into the domain of truth than you might realize. It is a
never-ending journey into the unknown, requiring that you turn
your back on everything familiar and move to places you've never
dared explore. You leave the solace of certainty far behind as
you venture beyond the walls of belief. While part of you is
curious, another part would probably rather not take the risk.
Eagles concerned about safety nets don't soar; sadly, they
eventually lose their ability to fly altogether.
However, as any eagle will tell you, overcoming the fear of
leaping from the nest is the only way to fulfill its destiny.
When you finally summon sufficient courage to loosen your grip
on the truths you've bought into and let go of set beliefs, you
will make a remarkable discovery: What you see depends upon
where you're looking from. Every time you change the point from
which you view, not only does what you see change, but a new
aspect of yourself emerges as well.
You become the eagle circling ever higher on unexpected
updrafts, each new turn providing a fresh point from which to
view. All the burning issues that seemed so pressing and
compelling yesterday fade into obscurity and irrelevance today.
New truths reveal themselves in kaleidoscopic succession until
you realize that each of these, too, is little more than a
temporary resting place. You linger for a while, absorbing the
epiphany it offers, and release it in order to move on to the
next vista that piques your curiosity.
As your awareness grows, so does your ability to accept multiple
realities. You soon come to realize that right and wrong, like
Truth, are merely expressions of perception. They appear
immutable only to those who refuse to change the points from
which they view. If such people are so deeply rooted to their
beliefs that they are unwilling to relinquish their vantage
points, why should it be surprising that what they see never
changes? The only way they can justify their deep-seated fear of
change is to preach and find fault with those who are not in
agreement. By finding others wanting, they reinforce their own
self-righteous perceptions, giving rise to the separation that
inevitably finds expression in covert or overt hostility.
This clinging to the idea that there is a universal, definitive
truth lies at the core of the difficulties with religions,
political systems, financial institutions, ecological movements,
the business and corporate world, as well as almost every
personal relationship you have ever had. However, where it does
its most insidious damage is within the complex mini-world of
the individual. When you trade your curiosity for the identity
and sense of belonging that comes with adopting the beliefs of
those around you, the totality of who you really are becomes
overridden by your external persona -- the person you now think
you are.
In theory, the way out of this dilemma is simple. Albert
Einstein encapsulated it in a few words: "No problem can ever be
solved at the same level of consciousness that created it."
However, in practice this is far easier said than done. For what
is required is for you to summon the courage to break free from
your comfort zone -- your habitual, ingrained patterning -- and
soar.
When was the last time you found yourself in a heated argument
with someone and suddenly realized that both of you were
absolutely correct even though you were in opposite camps? How
easy was it for you to disengage from the inevitable
he-said/she-said (attack/defend) syndrome and view the
interaction from outside the arena of conflict? Once you have
actually achieved this breakthrough, you are immediately
confronted by an incredibly interesting question: If I am the
one arguing, then who is the one watching me argue?
With that extraordinary question, everything in your life is
about to shift irrevocably. You are ready to leap into the void
in which your tidy world of certainty becomes increasingly
fuzzy. The higher you soar, the more right and wrong are seen to
be two sides of a m