Chapter 1
Your Truth
Ever since you were a kid, you’ve been programmed with
the many different “life truths” of countless well-intentioned humans. It likely started with your parents, then
your teachers, society, your pastor ... the list goes on and on.
As
you began to absorb all these “truths,” you might’ve noticed that some of the
supposed “truths” weren’t necessarily aligned.
The “truth” of your parents might not have resonated with the “truth” of
your teachers. The “truth” of society,
in most cases, won’t correspond with the “truth” of your pastor. Let’s not even get into the “truth” of the
different religions.
With
all these different “life truths” fighting over your attention, you probably
began to feel confused, wondering how you were going to please all these
well-intentioned people. Do you embrace
the “truth program” of your parents, while disregarding the “truth program” of
your teachers? Should you discard the
“truth program” of your pastor, because it causes you to feel alienated amongst
your friends, and their “truth programs”?
Thus
far in life, I’ve discovered that “truth,” in most cases, is completely
relative. The “truth” of a particular
relative (pun intended) could vary in significant measure from the “truth” of
another relative. The two different
“truths” of your two different relatives prove that “truth” (in most cases) is,
in fact, relative!
Dictionary.com
defines relative as: existing
or having its specific nature only by relation to something else; not absolute
or independent: Happiness is relative.
Whereas,
reading a good book could be the “happiness truth” for Brandon, playing video
games might be the “happiness truth” for Elvis.
Each “truth” is the truth for
each individual, making it their truth.
Which
brings us to the delightful point of this chapter: discovering your truth.
While
I find it important to respect and consider each “truth program” offered by the
well-intentioned people in your life, you’ll never “be free” until you experience life, and comfortably
cultivate your own truth. Experience is life’s greatest teacher.
Think
back to your childhood: One of the most
important truths in your life was the reality of Santa Claus. If you were a nice boy or girl, Santa Claus
would bring you all the toys you wanted!
If you were a naughty boy or girl, Santa Claus would leave you
hanging. Although Santa Claus was a huge
“life truth” for a period of your life, when you found out that your parents
were involved in a global scheme to trick youngsters into behaving, you
realized that it was time to release your “truth” regarding Santa Claus.
Did
that make the “truth” of Santa Claus any less real, while you were in the fantasy? Of course not! You thought Santa Claus was real! Take this awareness into the other “life
truths” you’re currently processing. In
most cases, just like Santa Claus, these “truths” are also make-believe. You make
them real by your belief in
them! And just like your experience with
Santa Claus, once life experience shows
you a different perspective regarding your current “life truths,” you’ll
release the idea of these “truths” being real.
The
cultivation of Your Truth is a never-ending process. As you get older, what was once a “truth” for
you, will no longer be “truth.” In
contrast, some things you swore would never be your truth, will, surprisingly,
become your truth.
The
key is to remain flexible and open-minded as you learn to cultivate Your
Truth. You’re going to consistently be
subjected to the “truths” of all the well-intentioned people in your life.
Just
because the truth of your parents (Santa Claus is real, so you better be good)
is currently working for them, doesn’t mean it’s the truth that will work for
you—at this phase of your life. Just because
your pastor says, “People who are forty should be married,” doesn’t mean that
you should accept his truth, and rush into a relationship that isn’t in your
best interest.
Truth
is relative (in most cases).
There
are, however, some Universal Truths that everyone should consider. Jesus’ Golden Rule: “Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is an example of a
Universal Truth, regardless of your background or religion. Life experience will prove that no matter who
you are, you’ll experience a higher-quality of life if you follow this rule.
Even
if you don’t believe Jesus ever existed—if you think he was a Santa Claus-like
fairy-tale, created by the ruling elite to “make people behave”—you’ll still
come to the conclusion (via life experience), that adhering to the teachings
that were ascribed to him, will increase the overall quality of your life.
But
then again, that is just My Truth. Applying the teachings of Christ (and other
spiritual masters that align with Universal Truth) has proven, by my own life
experience, that I’m a much more content human being than I was while ignoring
(what I believe to be) his Universal Truths.
If
you’re not comfortable thinking of Jesus as the “Son of God,” just think of him
as one of the world’s greatest philosophers.
Like Socrates, Plato, Lao-Tzu, or Aristotle, he just understood how to
make life work.
He
spoke his truth.
Ultimately,
that’s what everybody does. They speak
their truth. You’ll never be
disconnected from the “truths” of others.
Your mind is constantly being fed “truth program” after “truth program,”
and each one is claiming to be “the” truth.
The
true truth is this: Only you
can determine Your Truth.
The
book that follows will be a glimpse of My Truth. By absorbing its content, my intention is to
help you explore your own life, and lead you to feel comfortable listening to
your own inner guide (as you experience life), to determine Your Truth.
My
Truth, Your Truth, Red Truth, Blue Truth.
The
following story illustrates my point beautifully.
Once upon a time, way back in 2009, there was a
family. The family gathered around the
dinner table, eagerly anticipating the delicious meal and fellowship.
They
said grace and began to dig in.
Junior
was an inquisitive young lad, always asking questions that caused his parents
to wonder, What is it with this kid?
As
Junior was eating his ham slices, he noticed that the end of the (whole) ham
had been cut off.
Junior
spoke up. “Mom, why did you cut off the
end of the ham?”
“Oh,” his mother replied. “That’s the way Grandma has always done it,
so that’s the way we do it.”
“But
why?” Junior asked.
“Well,
I dunno,” replied his mother. “Let’s
call her and ask.”
Mother
called Grandma and asked, “Grandma, Junior wants to know why we cut off the end
of the ham. I told him we always cut off
the end of the ham because that’s what Grandma does. So why do you cut off the end of the ham?”
“Oh,”
replied Grandma. “That’s the way
Great-Grandma always does it. So that’s
the way I do it.”
“But
why?” Mother asked.
“Well,
I dunno,” replied Grandma. “Let’s call
her and ask.”
Mother
and Grandma used their three-way calling feature to get Great-Grandma on the
phone.
Mother
said, “Great-Grandma, Junior was wondering why we cut off the end of the
ham. I told him it was because Grandma
always does it. Grandma said she cuts
off the end of the ham because you always do it. So why do you cut off the end of the ham?”
Great-Grandma
responded, “That’s easy. My damn pan is
too small.”
Moral of the story: It’s important to know why you believe the things you believe.
I
hope you enjoy reading my book. Just make sure you’re a good boy or girl as you
read it—Santa Claus is watching you. :]