Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The trouble with truth

Truth is a powerful thing.

They say the truth hurts.

They say the truth will set you free.





I give you Einstein's quote:

"The ideals which have lighted me on my way and time after time given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. . . . The ordinary objects of human endeavour -- property, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible."

Well, I can get behind that. I like property as far as rights go, so me and Mr Al can agree to disagree. But sometimes the point is lost. Was he talking about property as in a mans personal possessions? Or was he talking about the insecurities and envies brought about by said property? I'd like to think it was the latter, if taken only in context of the quote. Outward success, luxury. Surely we don't need such excesses; surely we don't need to be outwardly successful? I would agree with Einstein. We don't.

You see, excess breeds envy. For instance, what if I were to say that I'm a multimillionaire? Would you still take me at face value for the things I believe, such as frugality, inward successes of virtue, and honor? Or, would you scorn and hate me because I have so much more money than you, and I know how to make it, as well as save it?





There is a fine line between love and hate, they say. I'm not sure who 'they' are, but 'they' may very well be idiots. It is a totally different thing to love, than it is to hate. If you've had these two feelings (if not, get some help, or tell your nearest coworker that you are a Cylon.), then you'd know they are totally different in nature, so don't be fooled by this misconception. Know your emotions, because they can do great good, or cause great harm. The 'line' between these two emotions comes from envy, supposedly a sin. I'm not too keen on religion, and if you are, more power to you, but; I do know that certain things can cause perceptions to mutate beyond the scope of sanity. Such as love and hate. I suppose that's why there's a supposed line there, but if you can temper your emotions like a plate of steel, working it into a blade, you'll know the difference.

The point is that envy breeds our current 'keeping up with the Jones' mentality, and if you DO believe in religion, then you could very well make correlations between Babel and our own Western Society.

Truth is perception. Perception can be deception, if not carefully maintained and honed into a fine edge with which to make the difference.

For instance, one could make the claim that 9/11 was an inside job. You've already made up your mind whether hijackers did the deed, or whether the U.S./Global government did the deed. The facts are there for you to decide, and perception is the key to truth.








Perception helps humans to map the world around them. Unfortunately, it also takes them from one extreme to the other, whether or not they've decided for themselves the facts of a situation. After the perception kicks in, and emotions get involved, facts no longer matter. The emotions will take over, and make the perception for you... and that can be bad.

"Emotion can be the enemy, if you give into your emotion, you lose yourself. You must be at one with your emotion, because the body always follows the mind." - Bruce Lee



Just remember:




"Never put your passions before your principles, for even if you win... you lose." -Sifu Vatche Bartekian




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