Truth—part 1

Expansive Colorado

 “I can see the sun, but even if I cannot see the sun, I know that it exists. And to know that the sun is there - that is living.” 
― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Fyodor Doestoevsky is one of my favorite authors. He challenges me to think deeply about what matters most. He doesn’t shy away from presenting life as it is, including all the messiness of individuals and societies at large. I’ve read several of his books and also about his own difficult life journey. His insights into human nature and Christian faith are meaty, and I imagine this is so because of the extreme challenges he faced in his lifetime.

For some time now, I have been reflecting on the importance of aligning with truth. This relates to my faith, of course, but I believe there is so much to consider, regardless of one’s religious beliefs. To clarify, I start with the assumption that truth is woven into every aspect of the universe. I won’t define it too rigidly, except to say that there are certain foundational realities that impact life, either for good or bad, when we are aligned or misaligned. This seems obvious on many levels—if you are kind, others will be kind to you; if you are diligent, you will reap rewards, if you wear your seatbelt, you will have a greater chance of minimizing life threatening injuries in a car crash. Of course, there are always exceptions to these and other similar “truths”. Some of these truths are more obvious than others and some have greater consequences when ignored than others. 

The aspect that I want to focus on, however, has to do with Dostoevsky’s quote, and the fact that truth can be very subtle. It requires attention and, I believe, times of silence and meditation in order to grasp some of the less obvious truths. Again, not all truth. Much is as obvious as the nose on our face. But there are deeper truths that can only be gleaned as we move through and experience life. And they will only be grasped IF we are open to learning, and we are not too distracted to miss them.

I want to always be open, because encountering truth is where we find all the good stuff. Freedom, hope, joy, rest, peace. Dostoevsky is a master at juxtaposing these gems amidst the dark backgrounds of life. 

I had a birthday last week, and since then I’ve been thinking about the different decades of my life and what has become more clear throughout each one. I think I’ll plan to write about that next. 

One more thing…the opening photo. I have always found Colorado and other places “out west” to be expansive places—perhaps even a liminal spaces where I have experienced a deep sense of well-being and abiding peace. Hmm…perhaps it is a place where I come closer to truth, in an interior sense if nothing else. Perhaps I’ll include some of my thoughts around this in a future post.