“We must always hold truth as best as we can determine it, to be more important, more vital to our self-interest than our own comfort.”

Very wise words from M Scott Peck. Words I once resonated with only, it was still an abstract idea – believing in it and inspiring me. I am starting to experience these words at a much deeper level, making it easier each time to step into truth and to not fear discomfort. Let me share, as I want everyone else to step into their truth – and by sharing I hope it ignites just that.

Terror

A while back I had a significant revelation of my values and how my life was not aligned with them. Seeing this clearly was like a weight of my shoulders. I never realised I was carrying all this weight until it fell off me. However there was a moment before that weight fell of my shoulders. The moment of terror. It’s the moment in which we ‘see’ and cannot go back to ‘not seeing’. Which means, we either act upon it, or we turn a blind eye.

In that moment of seeing, terror kicks in. It is almost easier to feel ‘lost’. It’s a hard way to live, but we can hide behind our ‘drama’ and don’t have to deal with real discomfort of drastic action. Once we see, we know we gotta act. And when the act comes with discomfort, it’s a pretty terrifying place to be.

But… we act. As if we don’t, we basically die; we choose for not living fully, or for not living at all.

Smashing pillars

The moment of terror. What actually is that? What’s so terrifying about knowing and seeing clearly? It often can be brought back to fear of the unknown, or of people’s responses, giving up security, something familiar or an idea we (and people around us) have been very attached to and hold for truth.

And here we are, rocking the boat, changing truth! It’s like smashing the pillars our world was built upon. Scary stuff!

Temporary

My dad used to say (and still says): ‘one suffers most from the things one fears’. Very true words. We can be so fearful of an idea. But once the moment is there and we pull through, it turns out okay. We are still standing, breathing, we are fine. From then on its upwards and forwards.

The discomfort is temporary. It melts away. The pain is temporary. We heal.

The reward

Once we step into truth. Relief. The worrying stops. The thinking stops. No more doubts. No more questions. Absolute clarity and no more holding back. This is it. The path has been taken. This is where we are walking now. A path we didn’t think existed, has now become the only road on the map. No more intersections, no more traffic lights. There is only one direction, forward – putting one foot in front of the other. Without a clue where the road takes us, all we know it was the right turnoff.

And it doesn’t matter where the road goes – truth is leading us – so anywhere is fine.

Calmness as indicator

How do we know what our truth is? If this question pops up, there is more time needed, then truth hasn’t arrived yet fully. Personally I recognise truth by how calm I feel. Calmness is my new thing. It has become my indicator for truth. Once we have let truth sink in there is a very calm sensation. Hardly any emotion. Just a calm, at peace state. A knowing that this is what we gotta do. It doesn’t even feel like a choice. It feels like, well like truth. And that’s not a choice. The only choice you have is to follow it or not.

It’s not totally without emotion. I have been sad, nervous and excited all at the same time when stepping into truth. The difference between emotions that come from a place of truth and non-truth is calmness in my experience. To have all of these emotions and not let them distress us. Instead, have the emotions and still feel solid, sure and calm.

Ripple effect

If you do know your truth, go on, step into it. You’ll be doing yourself a massive favor, and in addition the people around you. Stepping into our own truth and communicating this with others (especially the ones affected) allows the other to do the same. And that’s beautiful. The truth is so powerful. It’s something the other cannot disagree with or ignore. The other can have a reaction (eg sad, upset, angry, excited and so on), but there is no room for discussion. As we cannot question truth. The most beautiful thing I have seen when communicating truth is openness – like the other is stepping into their own truth as well – or at least a shift towards it takes place. I have seen the most unexpected responses from others. We may fear a response, but nine out of ten, the response is different from what we thought it would be.

When truth is leading, the journey is real, whether we like what’s happening or not. It’s like a commitment to life. To be and feel alive.

How to find truth?

I will write more about this in another post. The post that comes closest to this at the moment is ‘Heart or Mind, who is in control‘. In my new post I will talk to a couple of quotes from different people: ‘Let your story be the portal to what is really going on’. And ‘Don’t believe what you think‘. You might want to feel into these for now, and see what reveals.

***

I love my homeland music, so much heartfelt goodness. Here a song that fits this post.
Vandaag ben ik gaan lopen – Acda & De Munnik
Click below for translation.