The value of truth has come up in conversations with friends lately. Is its value in what we want to hear? Is its value in what’s real? Truth is something different to every one. In my opinion truth or its perversions can make or break a relationship, and its untruth that gives us a sense of unease. Truth can give a freedom that is beyond the lies. Is this something we want or is the truth to painful to live with?

Many of us live in a world where the truth is perverted into something that is more opinion then truth. In many ways, we are fed the pabulum of what we want to hear. We do the same to others. We live in a masked world that takes joy in rosy outlooks. Reality is way too painful.

News on CNN is slanted, and newspapers are biased toward opinions that bear the stamp of political correctness. Can we as people bear to hear what is real? I wonder! Everyone wants to hear that everything is going to be all right. Is it? I truly doubt it, after all life throws us very unfair problems.

We want to believe that we can hold back the passing of time so we believe the ads that promote youthful products and even when we ought to know, better we buy them. We want to believe that a war is going to stop terrorism, but there is always another war. We want to believe, so the greed of peddlers of printed or televised materials, use our insecurities to sell their opinions.

In relationships, we sell our biased stories to keep the peace or preserve the relationship. Hiding behind lies, we smooth over the bumps. The sadness of our reality is but a dream that we swallow hoping that it isn’t so. However, it is so! Reality isn’t very fun most of the time.

Is the whole truth possible? I don’t know, maybe not. All I know is that sometimes the varnished truth chips away at the very fabric of love, life and friendships. It leaves behind a hollow kind of life that is worse then hype or spin of any created reality.

For myself I am learning to be truthful, I am not always successful. It is far too easy to be a peacemaker and cover over the harder facts that occur in everyday life. In reality I would much rather have that rosy outlook. I am just not sure the cost is worth it.