“The Truth” Is Just A Story

 

Do you really need to know “the truth”?

What if we realized that the stories we tell ourselves are just stories? They are made up. We assign meaning to everything, and then we act as if the meaning we make up is “the truth.”

If you let go of your stories and beliefs would you be unsafe or would you be freer? What would happen if you were to become more curious and let go of being so certain? This would require you to live in the present moment more, because stories are always about the past or future. We can do relatively little about the past and we cannot know exactly what the future holds. Can you imagine letting go of “the truth” and resting in uncertainty?

The worst suffering comes, not from past events or future possibilities, but from the stories we tell ourselves about them. The stories we tell ourselves about our . . . divorce, losing someone we love, loss of a job, financial ruin, injuries, our health or our death—all of which can leave us depressed and anxious.

The key is to wake up enough to realize that you are telling yourself a story. Then ask, is this really the truth? Is this happening now? If the answer is “no,” make the choice to let the story go, knowing that it is a fabrication of your mind. If you are telling yourself that your girlfriend left you . . . which means you are unlovable . . . you will never love or be loved again . . . that you are going to die of the heartache . . . stop it!

Reactivity, anxiety, and depression are not exclusively the result of events in your life; they are the result of not being present and getting lost in stories with which you are overly identified.

 

 

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One Response to “The Truth” Is Just A Story

  1. Traveling Woman August 18, 2012 at 1:29 pm #

    … very beautifully put and yes , this is also my personal experience. The key to healing is living more and more and more in the PRESENT MOMENT .
    Not for nothing Eckhart Tolle landed a world-bestseller with “The Power of Now” … ! I (we all) cannot train me (this) enough . much love and peace to you all . I happy myself every day with simple yet powerful principles of Green Psychology.

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