Ghandi, Budhists, and Carl Jung are some of many that believe that each person is made up of all others. Aspects called the shadows, archetypes and masks of the human, are beneath each of our exteriors no matter how pure the package may seem. Psychologists have argued for years about what cocktail of nature and nurture comprise the person’s experiences, inner self and potential. Twins reared separately who are given different life situations sometimes may follow a similar path and share uncanny interests while siblings living in the same home dynamics for years may choose very different “ways out” into the world. Our perspectives make up our personal truth. A grand TRUTH does exist with which we can only see through our own lens.
A teacher recently explained to me that a meeting was held with a small group of people. In this group was a doctor, a fireman, a comedian, a teacher, and a lawyer. A person shared their experience and each person in the group had a varied perspective of the story. The doctor commented on the person’s health and lack there of that may have contributed to the outcome; the fireman, being very protective, was concerned for the prolonged safety for this person and family; the comedian laughed and made light of the experience to ease everyone’s feelings; the teacher talked about how the experience is a wonderful learning experience; and the lawyer focused on the cause, effect and fault that could have allowed the situation to occur in the first place. This person left the group with many different perspectives that were quite polarized by the personal experiences of each member. Each member; therefore, sharing a personal truth. Each personal truth being a Perspective of the TRUTH.
It is up to You to decide how you are going to distill and discover your Truth. From the numerous perspectives that come to you whether you ask for them or not, combined with as many experiences that go into making the You that You are, What do You Believe? The Only way to the TRUTH is to find a personal way to connect with it and it is not through another person. We can learn by teachings and example, but only You can make the choice to connect with TRUTH. The closer a human comes to the TRUTH, the clearer their perspective is, but there is a catch… we can never have TRUTH as a human because our human and ego perspectives are not made up of the TRUTH. In fact, our ego human perspectives fight the TRUTH and the light that connects it to all living beings. We do our best. Forgiveness is a great companion because we can allow mistakes, untruthful perspectives and pain to be softened into wisdom. TRUTH holds no judgment and beckons us lovingly knowing that we are like children stumbling in the dark where suddenly the light bulb turns on in our “Ah-Hah” moments of TRUTH.
So who is it to say how ANY one of us could fare given a nature/ nurture cocktail, completely different inner mechanisms, different triggers and hopes and dreams? When responsibility and power are given to one of us, people take notice, and then people take their personal truths and imprint them onto us. The imprint is not only the lens but the resolution of the image. This often confounds the person’s self identity and personal truth. Imagine the young man who is expected to be the next town mayor because his father, grandfather, and great grandfather were the town’s mayors. He may want to leave town and be an artist, but other’s imprints of their personal truths could potentially block him from following his dream.
As parents, educators and humans we can continue to do our best by honoring each person’s journey towards their own Personal Truth. We can learn good boundaries and back off from controlling another person’s destiny. It is a very intricate dance of support, empowerment, compassion and non-judgment. My motivation for this “blog” is Lindsay Lohan. Re-read this blog while having her in mind. How can we do our best to hope for her and all others to do their personal best? How can You hold TRUTH?
(This is my Personal Truth)