Telling the Truth

In a book by Sherilyn Kenyon one of the characters says, "Thee are three sides to every story. Yours. Theirs. And the truth which falls somewhere in between and is not run through human filters and preconceived notions and insecurities."

I love this quote.

Yesterday in church this idea came up a lot. The perception of truth and the basis of desired outcomes based on our version of the story.

I have decided that I am going to try an experiment. When I am telling my side of any story, Instead if saying, "this is what happened," I am going to try to remember to say, "this is what I felt/saw/perceived happened." I think that all to often I/we feel like we aren't being heard because someone else is ignoring our truth and trying to force their truth on to us. I think that all too often, I/we are in the role of pressing our truth on to someone else.

What will happen, if I allow my truth to be my truth, and their truth to be theirs? Perhaps if I listen to their truth viewing it as the truth as they see it, even if I disagree, but allowing their world view to be different from mine, perhaps I will be less angry, less hurt and more ready to see the for real truth that isn't my story or theirs.

Perhaps if I tell my truth with the understanding that it is only my truth, realizing that it is the truth of the situation, but not necessarily what actually happened, I will be less tied to having everyone I tell my story choose my side.

Perhaps if I tell my truth with the attitude that I realize that my own filters have changed the facts in someway, I will be more understanding of the other side.

Perhaps if I tell my truth with the awareness that no one else is me and therefore cannot entirely understand my headspace, I will find peace within my truth without the need for validation.

I will fail, I am human after all. And there will be times when my awareness falters and I get into the habit of defending my truth. But I am going to try. Let's see how it goes.


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