The Truth

[Walker]

If you can't know what's ubiquitous you're just fooling yourself.

Breath is ubiquitous. So is truth. Anything else?

The depth of what you know, varies.

You may not know the molecular structure of what you breathe, or the exact interacting physiological processes, but you do know breath.

[SpheresOfBalance]

The problem isn't that nobody knows the truth, it's that there are many truths and each with their own appeal.

You're speaking of mans, so called, truths, that 'suit his wants and desires.' But what about the truths of the universe and those that speak of mankind, like his tendency to 'suit his wants and desires?'

Where truth is:
[trooth] noun, plural truths [trooth z, trooths] /truðz, truθs/.

1) the true or actual state of a matter: He tried to find out the truth. --www.dictionary.com--

AND:

truth
noun
mass noun

1 The quality or state of being true. ‘he had to accept the truth of her accusation’

..1.1 also 'the truth' That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality. ‘tell me the truth’ ‘she found out the truth about him’
--en.oxforddictionaries.com--

[SpheresOfBalance]

If you can't know what's ubiquitous you're just fooling yourself.

Breath is ubiquitous. So is truth. Anything else?

The depth of what you know, varies.

You may not know the molecular structure of what you breathe, or the exact interacting physiological processes, but you do know breath.

As with the topic: BS, Walker! The truth is not dependent upon anyone's knowledge, it just is the actuality, the facts, the reality. Though it's terms shall continually be revised, such is the course of human language along with our evolution; hopefully!

Side bar: Your boy has been and shall continue to be a lame duck; as in: a person or thing that is disabled.

Just like I foretold: He shall be remembered as one of the worse presidents ever. It's been fun to watch that particular truth as it unfolds. His reign can only end in disaster, sorry but it's to do with his mind!

[Walker]

What you foretold was that train-wreck Hillary would win the election.

So, now you think your foretelling is true.

What has changed so that now it is true?

Did you have a moment of clarity some late night while fumbling for keys, and now it persists while the world moves on?

[Judaka]

You're speaking of mans, so called, truths, that 'suit his wants and desires.' But what about the truths of the universe and those that speak of mankind, like his tendency to 'suit his wants and desires?'

No, I am not.

I am talking about "the truth" as opposed to "a truth" where certain facts are being focused on, prioritised and interpreted in such a way that they become the most important to an individual. It's not an intentional manipulation of the facts, it's a normal process of understanding and giving meaning to a set of facts or a situation. So in the case of something like abortion, the debate about "where does life begin" itself is not a debate about what the facts are but about what they mean. Now let's say Person A takes these facts into consideration when thinking about abortion. More relevantly, to person B, the moral issues surrounding abortion have to do with what kind of life awaits the child once they are born and the will of the mother, as to whether it is moral or immoral for the abortion to take place.

There is never any contention or manipulation of the facts but person A may say something like "the truth is that because we can record brain activity this shows that life has already begun and therefore abortion at this stage is wrong" and person B may say something like "the reality is that the mother has no way to take care of the child and doesn't want to go through the pregnancy which will severely disrupt her life and she shouldn't have to go through that".

There are no exceptions, all inputs must be processed and interpreted, on top of our imperfect understanding' the result will be many valid answers all claiming to be "the truth".

[SpheresOfBalance]

What you foretold was that train-wreck Hillary would win the election.

So, now you think your foretelling is true.

What has changed so that now it is true?

Did you have a moment of clarity some late night while fumbling for keys, and now it persists while the world moves on?

You're mind is apparently weakening!

I said in the very beginning that your boy was going to be the worst president ever, been keeping up with the news friend?

[SpheresOfBalance]

You're speaking of mans, so called, truths, that 'suit his wants and desires.' But what about the truths of the universe and those that speak of mankind, like his tendency to 'suit his wants and desires?'

No, I am not.

I am talking about "the truth" as opposed to "a truth" where certain facts are being focused on, prioritised and interpreted in such a way that they become the most important to an individual. It's not an intentional manipulation of the facts, it's a normal process of understanding and giving meaning to a set of facts or a situation. So in the case of something like abortion, the debate about "where does life begin" itself is not a debate about what the facts are but about what they mean. Now let's say Person A takes these facts into consideration when thinking about abortion. More relevantly, to person B, the moral issues surrounding abortion have to do with what kind of life awaits the child once they are born and the will of the mother, as to whether it is moral or immoral for the abortion to take place.

There is never any contention or manipulation of the facts but person A may say something like "the truth is that because we can record brain activity this shows that life has already begun and therefore abortion at this stage is wrong" and person B may say something like "the reality is that the mother has no way to take care of the child and doesn't want to go through the pregnancy which will severely disrupt her life and she shouldn't have to go through that".

There are no exceptions, all inputs must be processed and interpreted, on top of our imperfect understanding' the result will be many valid answers all claiming to be "the truth".

Like I said mans truth's, not universal truths. You just proved my point by simply mentioning one of mankind's concerns about himself, his image in his own eyes, a moral judgement. I'm talking of physics, astrophysics, cosmology, earth science, psychology; the sciences! You initially made a general statement, that wasn't all inclusive of all situations. So I clearly asked for clarification. You failed to do so, instead proving my point and contradicting yourself in the process.

But I'll bite on your little worm, no real hook there. Fact: no human should be the slave of another. On your topic I currently embrace the only truth there is. I'm pro-choice/pro-life! First and foremost, it's the woman's body, NO ONE ELSES!!! Second, one should try and understand her reservations so as to provide solutions. If no solutions can be found, to her satisfaction, then hers shall only ever take presidence. Because? It's her body and, NO ONE ELSES!!! No one elses business. No one has a right to tell anyone what to do with themselves, PERIOD!! Anything less makes people slaves to those that would be DICTATORS! I say, off with the heads of DICTATORS! Come and try to dictate to me and see what happens. As largely a hermit, I do nothing evil to anyone, thus I have the moral high-ground. For 16 years I actually sacrificed my life for all of America and all her allies, against the cold wars, soviet nuclear threat. I owe no one anything other than to LEAVE THEM ALONE!! Which is what a hermit does in every way possible! So everyone owes me. Except maybe the Soviets. I'm waiting for everyone to be like me and finally really understand SELF-SACRIFICE, the only true sacrifice, though most of humanity has no damned clue what it is. You?

People foolishly 'believe' that to tell others what to do makes them better people.
Where as, I 'know' that to leave them alone is the only way that I'm a better person.
I simply observe, I never judge, unless of course it's clear that they're unjustly taking from another.

...Unless of course they ask for my help and I understand that it's truly warranted and that I can.

edit1: missed a keystroke

[Judaka]

I appear to be talking to an idiot, I will remember your name and to avoid reading your posts again.

[SpheresOfBalance]

I appear to be talking to an idiot, I will remember your name and to avoid reading your posts again.

Good, because idiots are not allowed to read my posts, as I'm afraid it'll hurt their little heads.

P.S. I'm afraid of no mans words, as usually they're easily defeated as crap. Unless of course they actually have substance.

[gaffo]

As I have grown older (or more mature) I have come to hate the term "truth" more and more.
I think it might be the one most abused word ever, and yet it holds the highest standard for a majority of people.

For religious people, the truth is in the scriptures. Most others consider them fairy tales.
For laymen the truth comes from respected medias and the courts. The judges and jurys decide the truth.
The scientists find the truth in common consensus. If they can agree, it's the truth.

The question is: Does any of us know the truth? Or even a fraction of it?

no

[bahman]

We don't know the whole truth. The only thing that we are sure about it is that we have experience.

[Sage-ish]

On March 4th, 1980 my brother took his deer hunting rifle, a semi-automatic Browning, across the road stood on the neighbors front porch and tried to get into their house. The door was locked. He shot the doorknob. He still couldn't get in. He broke out the window with the butt of his gun, climbed through and shot the man, who was watching evangelist Billy Graham on television, pointblank in the head. He chased the woman down the hall. She was trying to call the police when he shot her too. It disintegrated the old style phone. The children age 8 and 9 hid. He exited the house, went further down the road and shot the woman, who was getting ready to give her teenage daughter's hair a permanent, through the kitchen window. Her husband and teenage daughter came running in to see what had happened. That's when my brother shot him in the back through the dining room window. He left the area, went back to his house and told our parents to call the police, saying he thought he had just killed some people. Mom called the police. We were all horrified.

The events of that night destroyed my family and the families of those my brother killed. He died in prison in 2016.

You want to know what truth is? What happened that night was truth.

[Lacewing]

You want to know what truth is? What happened that night was truth.

What an incredibly horrific and intense thing to live through. Yes, it opens your eyes doesn't it? People can be so crazy -- and that's the truth. Beyond the moment, I don't think there is a certain or greater "Truth"... set, cast in stone, enduring. Each moment has its "truth", and then it evolves into other "truths". I've seen people go crazy and do terrible things. All you can do is live/survive in the moment with what is real right then. I try to spend every day and moment of my life creating and experiencing more peace and joy, as a result (probably) of living through such things. I hope you've been able to do that too.

[Sage-ish]

Lacewing, thank you for understanding. Yes, some experiences are right there, something one cannot avoid. That's what it was that awful night. There are so many reasons that we speculated about as to why it happened. My brother surrendered to the police, with no hassles.

What unfolded was a nightmare, that my family and I had to endure. My marriage to my wealthy husband eroded over time. He forbid me to tell him family. At the time of the killings I was about to enter graduate school to become a counselor. I made it through one class. The potential hearings and the trial kept interrupting my class work. I had to be there for my parents. They had no idea what to do. They were simple country folk. Dad was retired from work in a mill. Mom was raised a garden and farm animals.

They looked to me because I was the one with a college degree. My older sister fought with her husband about it. The lives of my brother's preteen and teenage kids were destroyed. His wife died an early death from the stress. My dad died of the stress as well. My brothers' kids will never be okay. Their father killed their best friend's parents. We'd gone to church with then when we were kids. I could go on....

What I did was drop graduate study. For years afterward I could not concentrate on ivory tower theory. I befriended the professor from the one class. He helped me a lot. He said, "You belong to a fraternity whose members never meet, the family of murderers." He said that even counselors would not know how to help me. He was right. During the murder trial I began to realize that I needed to write a book about what it was like to be the family of a killer. I wrote and published the first book about it, but unfortunately the publisher raped the story, took out things important to the understanding of the book. That further victimized me. After the publication of that book I switched to writing fiction. A person can tell more truth in fiction. You don't have to worry about anyone suing you.

I became a full-time author. (I've now published 11 books.) I divorce my husband. Found a new guy. He died suddenly of cancer. I am currently married to my third husband. He's a nice person.

The most awful things that have happened to me have been fodder for my greatest growth, because I decided to make it so. I am a far better, kinder, more compassionate person than I was before. I am grateful. When my brother died two years ago I realized my life sentence for the murders he committed was over. I then published the story of what my family and I went through, myself. It is free in digital format. It's called, My Brother Murdered His Neighbors and is available in a bunch of places, just not Amazon.

[Lacewing]

...

What you've said in your post is so compelling and interesting. It is real life and experience. Fantastic stuff! And the fact that you've written about it in published form... that's awesome! I had family members involved in a devastating murder suicide, and I once wrote about it in a Writer's Workshop, where the assignment was to write about something pivotal in our lives. The teacher and students were shocked into silence by my story. All they could say was "Wow"... but I WASN'T seeking their reactions like that, I truly wanted feedback about how well I'd written it!

I am sorry how many people's lives were destroyed by your brother. It's just so crazy. But I agree with you... these experiences -- if they don't destroy us psychologically -- can really infuse us with deeper understandings and capabilities. This stuff twists your guts and perhaps blows open your mind in ways that "normal life" doesn't.

And you've published 11 books! Wonderful! I've only got one on Amazon. I'm halfway through the second. I still have a primary career, so my fiction writing for pleasure is in my "free time".

Experiences such as yours can offer (in my opinion) more substance and insight than posts on this site that are simply aimed at telling people "how it is" -- and a lot of people seem prone to do that. From my perspective, there are MANY ways "it is". Living through one's own experiences and transformation that touches on so many levels, reveals more about "what is" and can be, than any single person can neatly define for All. To me (perhaps because of my own experiences), the Universe is just not so known and easily defined. It can be vast and outrageous... and utterly amazing. Like you, I am grateful!