Writing my way through the A-to-Z blogging challenge, I’ve tasked myself with exploring the concepts of pronoia (the belief that the universe is conspiring to shower us with blessings), quiety (serenity) and peace – all through the lens of unusual, obscure, or simply delightful-to-me words.
V is for…
veriloquent – speaking the truth
I’ve been immersed in some deep thinking about truth lately. I’m working my way through Laura Riding Jackson’s book from the 1970’s entitled The Telling. It’s not an easy read – for me it’s been one of those stop and start affairs. But it’s urging me to dig deep in examination of truth. She says:
“The task of truth is divided among us, to the number of us… We must grasp the Subject with the tongs of our individual littleness; take the measure of it with what we are.”
This reminds me of something I heard some time ago, source unremembered, that likened truth to a mirror that had been shattered and we’re each given a piece. We can’t know the whole, and at the very best we can only know our piece.
In one way this seem disappointing – I suspect we all want to know TRUTH – all of it, irrefutable. As if it were one thing written somewhere and we only needed to commit it to memory. But I’m pretty sure there isn’t ONE truth. I do believe we all have our own truth.
I really resonate with something Clarissa Pinkola Estes says, which I think fundamentally speaks about our own truth:
“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires.”
Palmer Parker also weighs in with something I find worthy of examination. He refers to a Yeats poem that talks about the lying days of youth, then withering into the truth. And Parker says:
“My youthful ‘lies’ weren’t intentional. I just didn’t know enough about myself, the world, and the relation of the two to tell the truth. So what I said on those subjects came from my ego, a notorious liar. Coming to terms with the soul-truth of who I am – of my complex and often confusing mix of darkness and light – has required my ego to shrivel up.”
The world is complex, and each one of us is a complicated creature journeying through life in ways that often seem blind and contradictory. I certainly think we all get to choose what energy we wish carry, and it’s my hope I keep myself pointed in the direction of loving-kindness and compassion more often than not. But I don’t ever want to use that to hide behind, to shirk from those situations that demand I speak my truth. I think that’s what is asked of us in these challenging times – to be willing to be seen in our soul truth, and to speak it aloud.
What do you think? What truth are you holding? Do tell – you know I love to hear.
Everyone has their own truth. It is important to remember. 🙂
The Multicolored Diary: WTF – Weird Things in Folktales
So true!
In this day and age when we are told by those we are supposed to trust that we have to accept alternative facts, the truth is easily lost. Find me here.LINK
I think it’s important to never blindly give up our ability to discern for ourselves.
Thanks for stopping by today Susanne.
“We can’t know the whole, and at the very best we can only know our piece.” So true.:) 🙂
“I think that’s what is asked of us in these challenging times – to be willing to be seen in our soul truth, and to speak it aloud.” Loved how you summed it up . Uniquely intense and beautiful. I feel, veriloquence is important for lasting relationships .
Best wishes,
Moon
https://aslifehappens60.wordpress.com
Thanks for your kind words Moon. I think you’re right about the importance in relationships. As we shift and evolve we always want to be expressing our current truth – otherwise we’re stuck in being who we once were which isn’t in integrity with where we are now. When we offer that to ourselves and ask that of others, we get to fully embody and explore at our leading edges.
This is gorgeous Deborah thank you. I hear the clarion call for us each to listen to our voice and/or soul, hear what it says, let it shine and be seen and not be afraid to act on it within our sphere of influence.. We are able to use our powers of discernment. There may be many truths and many paths all of which have value. Yet, one’s own soul and familiarity with it is one of those especially powerful agents, one’s own truth. From the microcosm to the macrocosm we can each make a difference in our own way accompanied by loving-kindness.
You express this so beautifully with such grace – thank you Susan.
Certainly our understanding of the truth is unique to our personal experiences. WeekendsInMaine
Sorry, when I posted my comment I didn’t notice that the form was defaulting to the previous posters information!
Not sure why that happened with the form Karen, but in case, I agree with you.
Palmer Parker’s books and ideas are so insightful. Enjoyed reading your post today. Very interesting.
Parker’s writings (and thoughts) really are a treasure. Thanks for stopping by today Ann.
Everyone may have their own truth for themselves and the way they live, but it’s also important to remember that each thing has one fundamental truth. And no matter how much we want to cling to our own truths, we should always remain open minded and accept that we don’t know everything – we’re always learning. (which is good!)
Veriloquent is a lovely word, and that my friends is the truth! 😉
Here’s my “V” post 🙂 http://nataliewestgate.com/2017/04/victim-secret-diary-of-a-serial-killer
That’s a wonderful way to express it Natalie. I believe our own truth should be ever-evolving, just as we evolve, change, shift, expand, and become more of our soul self.
Hi Deborah – as long as we maintain our own truth – then the trouble appears …we need to re-calibrate for others truths … some very obvious – some distinctly questionable (not worth questioning though) … in this day and age an appropriate topic to remember and consider … cheers Hilary
http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/w-is-for-whistlejacket.html
It’s a nuanced balance isn’t it Hilary? I want us all to be growing, refining, becoming clearer – clarifying ourselves to the pure flame of truth within. And yet we do that in relationship with one another. We all offer each other our pieces of the “truth mirror” and hopefully we use them to evolve our own understanding.
“A confusing mix of darkness and light.” is where my truth lies at the moment. With time and practice, I hope I can let go of the side of ego that hinders the soul’s journey towards building a signal fire.
Amen to change within:)
Thank you Deborah. There’s not enough time to drink in your words and feel them trickle one by one–so will be coming back in May to sip a bit more.
W is for Warp and Weft
“..the soul’s journey towards building a signal fire” is such a beautiful and powerful image that I’m going to carry in my heart – a reminder of our what we’re here doing.
Like you Arti, I’m looking forward to a slower pace after April to return and dig deeper and at a more leisurely pace into so much of the goodness that the A-to-Z challenge has revealed.
Each has a different truth and different fog to get through to it. I am still walking through the fog…travelling as light as I can, keeping it as simple as possible, and prepared to change direction at a moment’s notice.
Nilanjana
Madly-in-Verse
“A different truth and a different fog…” – yes, yes, yes.
To communicate through anything less than the truth of our self as well as we know it, serves neither the recipient nor Truth.
I believe our perceptions of Truth are personal and consequently partial, but that the whole of Reality is the single Truth. That we see it reflected in a tiny shard of a far vaster mirror doesn’t diminish Truth or change it in any way. We simply have to accept that we may never know what it is. So what we may call “our own truth” (not the truth of our self, but what we perceive to be Truth outside our self) is only our limited perception of a small part of Truth. It might not even be true.
All we can hope is to glimpse the brilliant epiphanies of Truth that slant across our stumbling paths.
Like the difference between lying and being mistaken, that doesn’t mean your belief doesn’t reflect the Truth, it means only that you have to accept you might be wrong. If your watch is set in error when someone asks the time, you aren’t lying when you report with perfect sincerity the time your watch shows — unless you know it’s wrong. You are merely mistaken.
We have to understand that belief isn’t Truth. Truth exists regardless of anyone’s belief. But there is a chance that what you believe is True.
You may tell me, “Ah, that is YOUR belief, your Truth.” And I will answer through the truth of myself, “I do believe it, but whatever any of us believes, Truth is whatever it really is.”
“And,” in the words of Edith Ann, “that’s the truth.”
I really appreciate this thoughtful response Sue, and you’ve expressed this so beautifully. With so much here to ponder, I’ll be returning. But I didn’t want this to go unacknowledged until then.