𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝑩𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 🤍

(The following is an excerpt from my journal, written this morning, on Sunday, December 22nd, 2024. I have shared this excerpt in today’s video.)
“Yesterday, I was asked about the artist’s responsibility to tell the truth even if it makes others uncomfortable. I remember making a note of the following lines from C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity when I read it back in October of this year: ‘In religion, as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth-only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair.’ Based on these lines, it is evident that conveying the truth is necessary, not only in religion but also in other spheres, even if it makes people uncomfortable. We cannot achieve comfort without first facing the truth head-on.
“Another way of looking at it is this: Artists, writers, and intellectuals must express the ideas that are within them, truthfully and at all costs, because those ideas are there for a reason. God is trying to tell the world something through them. He is trying to urge humanity on to greater levels of understanding and compassion. So many of the greatest figures throughout the world’s history were hated and ostracized for telling the truth, because people did not and do not want to know the truth. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. Such figures include Socrates, Galileo Galilei, Ayn Rand, George Orwell, and even Jesus Christ himself. In general, anyone who expresses uncomfortable realities or criticizes societal norms can be labeled as a ‘truth-teller’ and face backlash for his/her honesty. But it is an undeniable fact that these figures, simply by means of their words and ideas, made significant contributions to the evolution of collective consciousness.
“So likewise can each of us, if only we develop the courage to be disliked and criticized. Telling the truth and living it are more important than fitting in and having the approval of others. In the words of Plato, ‘No one is more hated than he who speaks the truth.’ It is my mission in life to share the truth as I see it, to express the ideas contained within me truthfully and as God intended, regardless of how they will be received by others. The truth about all things will ultimately make itself known, whether we like it or not. Only the truth will make us better people, better souls. Truth brings freedom. As proclaimed by the world’s greatest spiritual teacher, ‘You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ No genuine freedom can be obtained, on an individual level or on a societal level, without first facing the truth. Let us then be truth-tellers and truth-seekers, and thereby set the world free.” 🕊️
#beauty #beautiful #innerbeauty #love #inspiration #thoughts #journal #diary #philosophy #psychology #psychiatry #literature #writing #art #wisdom #religion #spirituality #theology #encouragement

[@EremiasRanwolf-d6z]

I think this is one I'll be going back to several more times. Without truth, any "comfort" is ephemeral. For comfort to have meaning it has to be taken along with the discomfort--truth we like and truth we don't like.
Facing truth takes courage. Self-deception can be hard to escape because we always have biases and self-interests. But for life to mean anything, we have to try to find and live out whatever truth we have.

[@blancoCuervo]

Truth be told.... as always keep going WE GOT THIS! ;

[@LubnaKabir]

Thank you, Bradley. We got this! 🌸🦋