the truth about truth

Do all dogs go to heaven? Is there a heaven? Is there absolute truth? Or, are all things relative? Is the only absolute that there are no absolutes? These are all questions that humans have been dealing with for millenia, and that dogs already have figured out. The short answer is that these are the wrong questions…

The “right” question is: How do you come to believe that what you call “truth” is truth? What were the words you heard or the things you experienced that led you to believe what you know as truth is really true? Let me give you an example:

When I was born, in Texas, I really thought that my first master loved me. That was the truth. But then, I was taken from my mother and sold to another human, who then became my master. I adapted. This was my new truth, and I believed that this master would be the one to love me forever. He took me on a roadtrip to PA, but then he left me there when he went back to Texas… he left me alone. I was on my own, and then I got hit in the road. My life was turned upside down. My front leg had to be amputated.

Again, my life was turned upside down. I spent a couple months bouncing around between the vet’s office, the home of a lady who worked there, and an elderly couple’s home. They gave me back to the vet–because I was too much for them–and this is where I met my new master. My new truth.

Every time I experienced a life change, an entire new set of words entered into the picture. The real truth is that none of these experiences in and of itself constituted the whole truth. No singular scenario could adequately capture the entirety of the truth of my lifeworld. The historical picture has to be taken into account!

So, what’s your truth struggle? Are there things you’re not sure about? Have you any conflicting experiences– I have a home; I don’t have a home. I am loved; I am not loved. I have four legs; I have three legs. The natural gas industry is a good thing; the natural gas industry is a dangerous thing. Do any of these conflicts apply to you?

I challenge you to refuse to focus on a momentary version of truth. I challenge you to challenge every word you listen to, and ask how these words are contributing to your current understanding of truth. I challenge you to seek out more words… to look for the words that have yet to be uttered.

And, please, humans, take history into account– look beyond your current scenario and ask not “What is true?” but rather “How did I come to believe this is true?” Ask yourself what part of your understanding of truth is based upon your own historical experiences and what part of it is based on words that someone else is trying to get you to believe.

Oh, and btw, not all dogs go to heaven. Sorry. There are some real evil bulldogs out there. That’s just the way it is.