The Truth about Truth

The truth about truth is two things can be true at the same time. 

The meaning we attach to things comes from what we believe is true about everything and anything.

Take this picture, for instance.

Before you read any further, what would you say is true about what’s in it?

Okay, now let’s identify some of the factual things in it (and yes, this is a real photo, not some AI creation): 

• A man is holding a large pike. 
• The man is smiling. 
• He’s wearing sunglasses and a hat and boots. 
• There is snow around him. 
• There is a can of Bud Light near him.
• He is kneeling on one knee.
  

These are some facts about what’s in the picture.

Now. Let’s focus on that large fish for a minute and the man’s smile.

What is true about it?

If you believe the truth has to do with the excitement he feels from catching a monster of a fish because in your world, catching huge fish is part of what makes someone feel powerful and successful and later that night he’s going to go out for beers with his buddies and get all kinds of attention and slaps on the back — that could be true.

If you believe the truth has to do with the satisfaction you would feel from catching a monster of a PIKE because pike are an invasive species and they are ruining bass fishing in the summer and one less giant pike in the lake is a step in the right direction of getting rid of them for good and you would feel so amazing for getting rid of a huge pike like that — that also could be true.

Both of these situations can be true at the same time even though they are different.

The point here is that the truth can be both absolute (the man is smiling) and relative (what we believe is true about why he’s smiling). 

Unless you know this guy, the truth about him in this picture will be generated based on your belief system about what you see, not what’s true for him.

The truth about truth is two things can be true at the same time.

Think about how many inaccurate and potentially damaging conclusions we reach all day every day about what we believe is true about what we see, especially on social media.

When we come to conclusions based on what we believe about anything and everything, we can get into dicey territory, especially with ourselves.

This is why it's imperative to not only develop sound critical thinking skills, but to also practice them daily.

It's hard to say how many people are no longer here because of faulty conclusions they came to based on what they saw somewhere -- and then filtered what they saw through their belief system without fully examining how they arrived at the thoughts they had.

When we develop the skill of taking a step back and thinking about all the things that could be true about someone or a situation before arriving at a final judgment or conclusion -- not just our own version of the truth -- life becomes a little easier, a bit more kind, and definitely less dramatic.

Like getting rid of the invasive pike from our lakes, those outcomes are good things in my book.