It’s a fascinating concept… sounds good, too…
My truth.
But what if it’s not accurate?
Let’s objectively unpack. First, some definitions…
my | mī | possessive determiner
1 belonging to or associated with the speaker: my name is John | my friend.
2 used in various expressions of surprise: my goodness! | oh my!
truth | tro͞oTH | noun
the quality or state of being true: he had to accept the truth of her accusation.
• that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality: tell me the truth | she found out the truth about him.
• a fact or belief that is accepted as true: the emergence of scientific truths.
So then we observe, listening to what people think, say, and believe — such as this prominent news host this week:
“My role as a journalist is to speak from my truth and from my lens and from where I come from, and I don’t think those things are biases. I think those things give me expertise in this particular subject.”
With all due respect, he is not alone. Many believe their truth is the truth.
Herein lies the problem…
By definition,“truth” fits “in accordance with fact or reality.” One person’s experience does not equate to everyone else’s reality.
The “my” modifies what comes after it; “my” modifies “truth.”
But if “truth” is “fact or reality,” it can’t be modified.
Which makes me wonder…
Is one of the challenges of current day this notion that seemingly well-intentioned, even intelligent people believe contradicting themselves makes sense?
Truth is not relative. Hence, there is no such thing as “my truth,” your truth, or anyone else’s.
So what if instead of “my truth,” we acknowledged…
“Here is my perspective…”
“This is my experience…”
“My perspective and experience are valid…”
With that comes the prudent awareness that individual perspective and experience do not hold for all people.
Why is such a distinction important? Great question. The challenge when we treat truth as relative — suggesting individual truths exist — is that it lures us into believing there’s no validity with any other perspective or experience.
In other words, “If my truth is fact, why should I pay any attention to you?”
May we honor and learn from varied perspective and experience, recognizing each are still are incapable as qualifying as “truth.”
Respectfully…
AR