Truth
Like many Americans I come home everyday and complain to whoever is willing to listen about my bad day at work. While I am only working part-time, along with my full schedule of classes, it is easily the most exhausting part of my day. While my title is- director of an after school program, I tend to simplify it to those who are curious as being a glorified babysitter. By this point you may be wondering what any of this has to do with the question, what is truth?
Working with children has really opened my eyes to the ideas of truth. Truth in children is two-fold. Depending on the day, I will often get a group of 30 children who are brutally honest with me pointing out every flaw imaginable, or a group that will stretch the truth to a length that would leave a yoga instructor impressed. What is it that sends children to such complete opposite sides of the spectrum?
The easier answer to examine is what makes children stretch the truth. This is something that is not restricted to age, as I see many adults, myself included, partake in this practice as well. We do this to make ourselves sound more interesting, to get out of trouble, or just to see where we can go with it.
The brutally honest part is a little more interesting. This is something that I feel wears off as we get older. This is most likely a result of becoming more aware and tactful with our words as we realize the impact of what we say. However, there is something that is very refreshing when you actually hear the blunt truth.
For this I admire my filterless friends who keep me on my toes and am grateful to be in the situation that I am, where I am told what I need to hear, and not what I want to hear. While I understand the need for tact, I urge us all to speak our minds from time to time, for as they say- “the truth will set you free”!
