Truth: Relative or Absolute?
Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth, Chapter 3 Section 6
Beyond the realm of simple and verifiable facts, the certainty that “I
am right and you are wrong” is a dangerous thing in personal relationships as
well as in interactions between nations, tribes, religions, and so on.
Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth
If I am right and you are wrong, do I own the truth? Or do I have a special connection to it? Is my way of believing about how the world works true? Is yours? Absolutely?
You can see how we get into the weeds here, the spectrum moving from a heated argument right into war. It is fine for me to believe as I believe, but when I think I own the truth, then I must convince you to believe as I believe. And I cannot tolerate it when you speak something other than what I believe. And then I feel justified in taking action against you.
The one million people that mad dictator Pol Pot of Cambodia ordered killed included everybody who wore glasses. Why? To him, the Marxist interpretation of history was the absolute truth, and according to his version of it, those who wore glasses belonged to the educated class, the bourgeoisie, the exploiters of the peasants. They needed to be eliminated to make room for a new social order.
Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth
Sometimes when I read these words and they really sink in, I am amazed that we as a species haven’t figured this out yet and that we still need to create war when we disagree. And yet, this is where we are. Maybe this is the only way to evolve, to wake up and find another way. There is another way.
We can begin by practicing with ourselves; do not identify with your opinions. Have them, stand for them, but don’t make those who disagree into the enemy. Because that isn’t really you. That’s your ego.
I take heart in knowing that as we continue to dig into these wise words of Eckhart Tolle’s we can learn more together about that other way of being.
Thanks for being and thanks for being here with me.
