by Virgil Jason Clarke
What is truth? Truth as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary is as follows: Conformity to fact or actuality. Reality actuality. A statement proven as accepted to be true; but what is it really? Truth is listed as a noun meaning it is a word used to describe, an action. So truth is not just a statement of fact, it’s a way of life. How we live determines our truth thereby giving light to who we really are inside.
Truth is when we first take a look in that mirror and face the ugliness inside of us. Coming to grips with our floors is the only way we grow and become the Men and Women we were meant to be. Many are paying harsh payments because of our past homelessness. In some cases, families have been torn apart and destroyed while in other cases people sink into deep depression. This cycle of hate has reverberated throughout time leading to a darkness that seems to encamp each and everyone of us. Why is that? Why did it happen? It happened because very few of us were living our truth. For most of us it took something drastic to come to that trust, such as having our freedom taken away because of a senseless choice we made during a time of emotional upheaval.
What do we say then? Does this excuse what we’ve done? Certainly not. It merely explains them. However, in darkness, in which was are cast; we find our truth. There are many which turned from their past lifestyles and discovered the truth within the themselves yet look lack the opportunities to express it. Still, we live in it o express it. honor to those ‘s hurt. Facing what we’ve done is the hardest thing any of us has to do in life. It’s one thing many of us run from our entire lives and stay stuck in an adolescent state of mind. The is the danger we face when education and acts are taken from our schools so that we can build prisons. The truth of life becomes distorted. Instead of hope, there’s despair. Instead of happiness there’s sadness. Instead of a future there’s prison.
The business of prison has taken over the psyche of may Californians. Instead dreaming of careers in Medicine or to be a lawyer or a computer technician or firefighter of a police officer. Many dream of being Correctional Officers. There’s nothing wrong with being a Correctional Officer in and of itself, the problem lies in the fact that it’s literally becoming the only business or career with job security. What then are we telling our kids? The only thing there is in California to be either a prisoner or a guard.
This is the truth that’s out there now, the truth of hatred and unforgiveness. We have been blinded by this lie that we call truth. As stated before, truth is a way of life. it’s who we are. Truth is not what we choose to believe, because the truth doesn’t change; we do. Truth is constant, never changing and is concrete. We are ever changing evolving, corruptible, insidious, insightful, yet in all of our insightfulness we can and usually do pervert the truth to suit out minds and the ideals of our lifestyle.
So what is this ever elusive truth? Truth is love, which many lack. When we say that we have love for humanity yet abide in unforgiveness, how then do we love humanity? When we can look someone in their eyes and tell them that they’re unredeemable, unsalvageable and that because of their mistakes or poor choices in life; they’ll never amount to anything in life. When we do this; what does that say about us? Truth doesn’t change, we do, and we did. We have drifted so far away from the truth that we started living a lie. When those of us have re-discovered the truth we have forgotten, we’re branded lairs and that we need to change with the times. Truth doesn’t change, neither should we. Truth is love, and love is all encompassing, overwhelming, forgiving. it doesn’t boast, it isn’t puffed up, it hopes for the best, it believes in the best, it uplifts, it teaches, it wishes no harm and causes no harm and it definitely doesn’t promote a “lock ‘em up that throw away the key” mentality that has pervaded this state as a whole. We have to do better.
So in closing, if truth is what you’re after; look no further than in yourself. Find what you’re missing and seek it with all your heart. Truth doesn’t change, truth is cross cultural and eternal; truth is love. It doesn’t need to change to fit our times; we need to change to fit love, to fit truth.