A Simple Truth

  All my life I have been seeking Truth. Somehow I knew that it was like chasing my shadow. Every time I felt I knew the truth I was confronted by the realization that seeking truth is a never-ending task. Still a part of me knew that there was something noble about the path my inner longing has compelled me to walk.

What is the truth, and is it possible to know the truth? The truth seems to change with each passing moment. What was once true is soon disproved or modified and a new truth has taken its place.  So how can we get value from truth if it is constantly changing and evolving?

Maybe I have finally understood and accepted a simple truth about Truth. Truth is not just a bundle of facts that we have come to rely on; but truth is also a concept or notion that can only serve us if we continually pursue it with impeccability.

A bundle of facts is, at best, a personal or collective belief system that merely serves us sufficiently in the present moment so that we may survive, but it is not something carved in stone. Indeed, as soon as we become convinced that we have discovered the ultimate truth it is the surest sign that we have again gone astray. Like an onion, as we peel away each layer searching for the greater or deeper Truth we find at the core there is no ultimate truth. Ironically as I look back at my life I find, it has been the journey, the peeling away of the layers, and the impeccable pursuit of truth that has given meaning to my life.

Ironically, the frustration of seeking truth ends in acceptance and joy of walking the path where ever it leads, understanding and accepting that truth is not something to grasp and hold tightly but something that flows. As seekers of truth we give meaning to the word itself and validate the process of seeking truth by showing our devotion to the process and our reverence for the task. So what if there is no ultimate truth, there doesn’t have to be. Besides, if we reached an ultimate truth the journey would have to end.