It’s Sunday.
It’s quiet and still.
One word keeps me thinking: Truth.
What is “Truth”? It is a noun or plural truths, something that is “verifiable” or a statement of facts. That’s great, but how does that relate to me and my life? There is my truth, your truth, the collective, the subjective and the objective. Which is real and to whom does it matter?
One of my unending conversations with my friends is talking about truth and reality; how what we believe to be true shapes our own reality. Conflict comes in when my truth does not match with your truth of a certain situation. Each person (side) gets so caught up in proving their truth is the ultimate truth. It is so exhausting. I remember feeling so frustrated that another just couldn’t see the truth even if it bit them in the a**! I defended, justified my position, tried to gain allies to support my version and …nothin’. It didn’t matter and didn’t change anyone’s point of view.
It has only been recently that I have tried to be aware and step out of the situation in order to view things from both sides with empathy. Truly being present in your own inner truth takes an effort to quiet your mind, listen, and hear what speaks from deep down inside, not from inside your head (Ego). I loved the (above) definition of Inner truth and the feeling it evokes. When you are quiet, you can feel the calmness of the gentle wind blowing over a still, joyful lake. That is when you know you have heard what you needed to hear. Many can not sit still long enough to find their still-point because it means they may or may not like what they hear. It is only when you can be still and hear the worst that you can begin to live your best. That means change. People are afraid of change. If they are still for a moment and hear a whisper of inner truth, a wall is built up to contain it because it conflicts with the Ego’s truth which speaks from the head, not the heart. If you take into consideration another person’s inner battle between their head and heart, you can see and understand someone else’s reality with Empathy rather than judgement. Their reality does not affect yours if you are being true to yourself. I had to do that and when I looked closely at another version of reality from a place of calm, I could see their where their strong emotions stemmed from: “Wow! If I view myself from that point of view or reality, I would seem like a horrible person!!”
What I have come to realize is that others opinions of me do not affect my opinion of myself if I have been able to connect with who I am at my core. I cannot do or say anything to change a person’s mind and trying to do so drains me of the good energy that will help me move forward. If I allow another’s words into heart, I get stuck in that ugly moment in time, spinning my wheels, trying to justify my way out.
Listening with Empathy does not mean that you need to agree with them, it just means you are not allowing the words to hurt or affect you anymore and..you know what? …..You can just walk away. If you choose to, just allow yourself to be open if that person decides to pick up the conversation again, speaking from their heart this time.