Two "truths" I can get behind

Thinking about the meaning of "truth" in a self-café in Osaka

The word ‘truth’ has been horribly twisted, probably since it existed. Today, this is even more rampant with expressions such as “My truth”; as if someone was personally in charge of “Truth”. Whatever it means, truth is fickle… So fickle that I can’t even make up my mind as to whether it should be capitalised or not.

If the world is ever-changing, what does ‘truth’ actually mean? Can anything be true? The Buddhists define truth in the “ultimate” sense and in the “conventional” sense. So does this mean there are two truths? Whether you agree or not, I have to concede that something here is not quite right.

My stance is simple. Things should just not be claimed to be true; if we can’t agree on the definition for a start, then what is the point? You may say it is just semantics, and I will accept that. But, Truth implies something deeper to me, something that can only be experienced and is beyond the realm of words.

That being said, there are two statements that fall into what I could conventionally accept as truth. I’m ready for the backlash…

1. We are all going to die

2. The answer that is most likely to be correct is “I don’t know.”

Let’s break these down.

“We’re all going to die.” I actually don’t know this one for sure, but I ain’t in the business of trying to find that out. Are you?

The answer to the first statement is an example of the second. I don’t know most things, and that is the case for all of us. If you say you do, I have plenty of questions I can ask that will “prove” otherwise.

Ultimately, does accepting that you do not know not mean that you are always learning?

What does it mean to you? Do you feel like you need to be “in the know” about things?

What about your wider place in the world and the universe?

I don’t have an answer beyond the experience of these questions that I have myself, curious to hear what you find…

Your complimentary AI slop, courtesy of Gemini