Wow! Day 9 and we’re finally discussing one of the most intricate philosophical topics around! We’re talking Truth vs. Honesty today!
To layout a couple of things, for the sake of being honest, here are some updates with what I’m doing during quarantine, and how I’m dealing with the COVID-19 crisis as a silver lining.
What does it mean to be honest?
First, I believe that honesty is the foundation to finding and speaking your truth. Honesty is your ability to acknowledge and see your strengths, weaknesses, and flaws all in one place. It means looking in the mirror at yourself and thanking your body for all it has taken you through, for all the years you’ve had this body, the ups and downs, the good and the bad!
True honesty, starts with seeing the real person you are, without judgment, disgust, shame, or anger. It means being kind to yourself when you’re feeling off and listening to yourself with compassion and empathy.
How has COVID-19 allowed me to be more honest?
This global crisis has forced me to live in my bedroom for 5 weeks. Not leaving for more than an elevator ride with mask and gloves to get food from my loving and selfless mother and father.
The isolation, though voluntary, brought back a cycle of depression I created because of dysfunctional patterns of behaviour in university, with the awareness I’ve cultivated through Reiki and the other blessings throughout this past year, I saw the pattern and kept telling myself I’m breaking the pattern. I know it exists and so I’m attempting with all my might to break it.
And I have. I’ve been exercising, surprisingly able to fall asleep as soon as my bedroom is dark and sleep through until the morning.
Starting this daily series has also given me a daily recurring goal, which means I have to wake up and get it done, because I’m responsible for it. I’ve also hired a fellow philosopher to edit my work, as I keep writing I want to make sure my writing style is up to par for the professionalism of this world.
I’ve also published one of my favourite posts to a really awesome site called Ghost Speaks, which allows all voices to be heard equally, and embraces the social justice perspective of inclusivity and diversity.
In other news, I wasn’t live on instagram this week, but I was able to sell my first bracelet! I love impacting people with the things I make, and though there were some hiccups in this first sale, I have tremendous support from my miracles family, Arbonne family, and other friends around me to keep pivoting and making it better with every step.
So yay! Now that I’ve gotten through my own honesty, and discussed what I think it means to be honest, the rest of this post will aim to discuss truth vs. honesty and continue in my preferred philosophical method of thinking.
The Debate between Truth vs. Honesty
According to Mariam Webster, there are many meanings for the word truth;
(1): the body of real things, events, and facts: ACTUALITY
(2): the state of being the case: FACT
(3)often capitalized: a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality
b: a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true truths of thermodynamics: the body of true statements and propositions
Definition of Truth
There are more definitions of truth than this, for the purpose of the article I will define truth as personal reality, taking specifically from the above statements and combining them into a simple definition explained further in a schema.
Before we get into the debate, let’s also define honesty;
1a: adherence to the facts: SINCERITY
b: fairness and straightforwardness of conduct calling for honesty in politics
2 obsolete: CHASTITY
Definition of Honesty
Alright, now that we know what honesty means for the purpose of this article I will define it as standing in your personal reality.
The Argument
If you’re not a philosopher, who questions everything about your personal reality, you may not see a debate between truth and honesty, and you may in fact, see them as going together. That is correct, these two ideas go together, but which one comes first? Can I be honest with myself if I am not standing in my truth? How can I be truthful with myself if I am not honest about aspects of my life, or myself that are unpleasant?
These are all questions that I have had since writing borderline wisdom and titling that post 10 truths about me. These truths are things I’ve always known about myself, yet one friend’s comment suggested that this level of honesty was good for me. This suggestion made me wonder how exactly honesty and truth work together, which brings me to writing this argument.
Argument:
- Honesty is the foundation for personal truth.
- If honesty requires full disclosure of all aspects of self, then honesty comes before personal truth.
- If honesty comes before personal truth, then one is lacking truth if they are dishonest.
- If truth comes before honesty, then one is living dishonestly in a false truth.
- It follows that living dishonestly is not truthful because truth is the actuality of honesty.
- Therefore honesty is the foundation for personal truth and one cannot be fully committed to truth without first being honest.
In order to clarify this argument, I believe that honesty is the foundation for personal truth. Personal truth can be your connection to God, a higher power, or Source Energy, whichever name you give it, it still exists as a metaphysical form with all knowing love and intelligence.
Honesty with yourself is the foundation for this because you have to acknowledge all of your flaws, weaknesses and take pride in your strengths. This is what I understand as Christian philosophy, where confessing sins, or flaws, is a means of release for us as humans, having this experience.
Honesty comes before standing in your truth because your truth requires a strong connection to honesty. Without honesty, you cannot be truthful, in action, words, or being. I see this as a condition of personal truth, which makes the argument a little more complex.
This argument then begs the question of whether there is one truth, or THE truth, versus personal truth. I can answer this question saying whatever truth you align yourself with through the foundation of honesty, becomes THE truth for you, and thus a personal truth for you to stand in, and be a voice for. It could be THE truth about injustice, and social inequality, or THE truth behind spiritual growth and personal empowerment through that journey, but whatever your truth is, know that it is the right truth for you, as long as the foundation of honesty is built solidly.
Remember…
Developing honesty with yourself is a practice, it means that you dedicate yourself to always being authentic, present in the current moment, have a clear vision of where you’re going, and that you have made peace with who you were in the past.
The practice of honesty leads to clarity of personal truth, which is a cause that you align yourself with. It could be part of your story of trauma, or a solid foundation and faith in Christian God; whatever it is, as long as you are aligned with it, with honest reasons, your truth is yours to shout.
Hope you enjoyed reading today’s post!
With love and light,
~~ stay true, stay weird ~~
~~ Kristi