When all else fails, try the truth
by Herb Ruhs, MD, Unknown News
June 14, 2005
Like other readers of Unknown News, I diligently seek out the "truth" behind the lies. We cram our skulls with endless reams of "news," all of which points unerringly toward immanent disaster.
The air, the water, the food, the very ground we walk on, have become poisons. The actual situation with the "weather" itself has become an impolite topic of conversation. Extremes of every description assault us on every front. Life is like an unbalanced flywheel shaking itself to pieces. All organized activity for justice will be infiltrated by the forces of greed, power and privilege. All right then, by now, hopefully, a critical mass of people have gotten the point.
So now what do we do?
I suggest that when all else fails, try the truth. Compulsive readers may enjoy Brad Blanton's books on radical honesty but the principles are utterly simple. The truth may not change anything, except to set you free. You may discover that you do not have to "do" anything at all if you have the courage to just tell it like it is.
Lying to one's self is a subtle habit and is the source of all weakness and suffering (let Blanton explain this for you, but please do not buy his books from the right wing crazies at Amazon).
One person telling themselves the truth is a person. Two people telling each other the truth is a friendship. Three people telling each other the truth is a community. Community is our salvation, if there is a salvation to be had. And salvation may come.
Don't let anyone ever tell you they know the future. They don't. No one ever has. One thing that we should have learned by now is that any ideologically pure "solutions" are just stalking horses for groups of people who think THEY should be in charge. Ideology sucks a big one.
So where do we look for answers? With the understanding that false answers will always be more plentiful, and that "the next great thing" will most likely turn out to be a disappointment like all its predecessors, let me suggest something modest:
Try to start telling the truth in your daily life. Tell your neighbor, the right wing zealot with the SUV and "God" on his side, how terribly sad it makes you feel to see him acting so self-destructively. Tell your kids that you don't like how they behave towards each other and that you are getting rid of cable. Tell yourself that much of what you believe is just something someone told you and you really do not have the evidence to support much of what you believe.
Admit that it never worked for you to compromise to get ahead, really; your retirement account will not save you. Tell yourself that it is OK to be experiencing fear and dread, that you are going to just let it come on strong, let it run its course, overwhelm you in the moment, and pass through you and beyond you, and leave you calm and untroubled by what you can not control.
Reality can be really uncomfortable, but never as scary as our nightmares. Whatever path you choose, be advised that "thinking" your way out of trouble is unlikely to work. Feeling your way out may not work very well either -- we have, after all, developed an enormous backlog of wreckage that must be dealt with eventually, but is not as likely to lead you astray.
Remember the 12 Step maxim: Logic is a good way to go wrong with confidence.
Relax. Do what you can and leave the rest to your friends and, together, the job will get done.
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Try to start telling the truth in your daily life.
Tell your neighbor, the right wing zealot with the SUV and "God" on his side, how terribly sad it makes you feel to see him acting so self-destructively.
Tell your kids that you don't like how they behave towards each other and that you are getting rid of cable.
Tell yourself that much of what you believe is just something someone told you and you really do not have the evidence to support much of what you believe.
Admit that it never worked for you to compromise to get ahead, really; your retirement account will not save you.
Tell yourself that it is OK to be experiencing fear and dread, that you are going to just let it come on strong, let it run its course, overwhelm you in the moment, and pass through you and beyond you, and leave you calm and untroubled by what you can not control.
Reality can be really uncomfortable, but never as scary as our nightmares.
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