Truth has a way of coming out whether we want it to or not. It was a difficult (often repeated) lesson growing up. I was amazed at how my parents always were able to know when someone was lying. They would sternly counsel my siblings and I when warning us that the worst thing we could do was lie to them; that it would destroy their trust in us. So I did my best to be truthful. It seemed easier to deal with the consequences of my actions and their irritation or anger at it, than to deal with their disappointment in me for lying about it. Their disappointment lasted much longer and went deeper to my core.
But I'm not just talking about truth simply as the opposite of lying and I don't believe Buddha meant for it to be limited to such a definition either. Truth exists beyond Webster's dictionary (or dictionary.com for my younger readers). Truth is like a seed that has been planted; it will grow. It will break through the shell, shatter it to millions of pieces and stick one little root, then another and another until truth has enveloped the old shell and grown tall and strong.
Truth cannot be hidden long. Who you are, what you long for, what you believe in are your truths. You can try for many years to suppress it. Ignore it. You can even get really good at doing that, thinking "hah! I got this!" But trust me, one day it (your carefully constructed world) will come crashing down because you can no longer fight your truth. It is stronger than you. And often it comes barreling down so hard and so fast with no means for any of your previous 'avoidance techniques' or 'displacement activities' to work. You're just sitting there shielding your eyes from the blinding light of truth, cowering and shaking because you are afraid of it. But slowly you sit a little straighter, feel the warmth of the truth on your soul, lower your arms from protecting your eyes and you look around. Gone are the cobwebs, the gray, the sadness, the loneliness, the pain, the never "seeming to get a break or do anything right". Things are crisper, cleaner, more colorful. A stillness and a peacefulness take hold and your path becomes clear and you are not afraid to take that first step fully present in your truth. Everything makes sense.
What I hope for all of you is that you listen and recognize your own truths as early in life as possible. I am listening for mine too.
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