If there were one thing essential to freedom, what would it be?
I think it would be truth. Truth is all about what is real. Seeking truth is about seeking what is actually the case. Not what one hopes is the case, not what one fears is the case, but honestly, sincerely just wanting to know the truth.
When we are in truth mode, without agenda, wanting truth with all our heart, we have no cherished opinion to defend or protect from scrutiny or evaluation.
When we have a cherished opinion, and only seek the opinions of those who will tell us what we want to hear, how can we know what is true? Can we make informed decisions based on cherished opinion?
When we’re after truth, we want firsthand information, if possible. If not, we go to the original thing, the horse’s mouth of it, or as close to the horse’s mouth of it as we can get.
We can’t always have firsthand knowledge of a situation, person, or thing, but when we really want to know the truth, we can strive to get as close as possible. We can use both reason and intuition to assess the data, and acknowledge that our ideas will change as we get more information.
As many former fans of former televangelists can attest, preferring cherished opinion over digging a little deeper is a preference largely cured by hard experience.
We get emotional over our opinions when we want to be right and we have a fear of being wrong, when we want to be accepted by a group with a cherished opinion, when we want to be in control, when we want to be validated, and when, darn it, we just want the truth to be what we want it to be!
Some do not really care about what the truth is as long as they’re accepted by their group.
Truth has many aspects, and freedom is one of them. There is no way to be free without truth. Without truth, we are at the mercy of delusion, and delusion has no mercy. What you don’t see is what you get.
I think it would be truth. Truth is all about what is real. Seeking truth is about seeking what is actually the case. Not what one hopes is the case, not what one fears is the case, but honestly, sincerely just wanting to know the truth.
When we are in truth mode, without agenda, wanting truth with all our heart, we have no cherished opinion to defend or protect from scrutiny or evaluation.
When we have a cherished opinion, and only seek the opinions of those who will tell us what we want to hear, how can we know what is true? Can we make informed decisions based on cherished opinion?
When we’re after truth, we want firsthand information, if possible. If not, we go to the original thing, the horse’s mouth of it, or as close to the horse’s mouth of it as we can get.
We can’t always have firsthand knowledge of a situation, person, or thing, but when we really want to know the truth, we can strive to get as close as possible. We can use both reason and intuition to assess the data, and acknowledge that our ideas will change as we get more information.
As many former fans of former televangelists can attest, preferring cherished opinion over digging a little deeper is a preference largely cured by hard experience.
We get emotional over our opinions when we want to be right and we have a fear of being wrong, when we want to be accepted by a group with a cherished opinion, when we want to be in control, when we want to be validated, and when, darn it, we just want the truth to be what we want it to be!
Some do not really care about what the truth is as long as they’re accepted by their group.
Truth has many aspects, and freedom is one of them. There is no way to be free without truth. Without truth, we are at the mercy of delusion, and delusion has no mercy. What you don’t see is what you get.
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