Education - The Seed of Truth

“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life to carry out; a concrete assignment which demands fulfillment.  Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated.  Thus, everyone’s task is as unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.” 

Victor Frankl

Everyone, no matter their lot in life, will act a part in the play called life.  When viewed against the vastness of space and time, our lives are but grains of sand on an infinite stage.  Some lives in this performance are seemingly insignificant while others seem to play leading roles.  The factors that determine our lot in life are guided by our views of truth and dictated by our larger view of the production for which we are cast.

Contained within every soul and locked within every human experience, truth abounds yet hides itself, patiently waiting to be found in its correct form and on its own terms.  Truth, after all, is the ultimate end pursuit of all conscious efforts and the motivation for our movement forward in time.  Housed in this tiny piece of real estate, we search, eking out our existence, patiently waiting for tiny moments of discovery that can fill our void and expand our view of the universe. 

The unsatisfied thirst to understand and know truth is what plagues our existence.  Yet, our finite existence contains potential for an infinitely marvelous array of possibilities when shadows of truth are humbly understood and applied to our efforts and struggles.  Sadly, our truths are but the mere edges of ultimate universal truths that are waiting to be discovered. 

Found within our souls and within our intellect, we hold the capacity to know and understand.  We lack only the proper insights and connections for truth to be realized fully in our lives.  As we seek to discover new understanding, truth observes our progress and waits.  Eons of time have passed since truth began its work, anticipating moments in time to reveal its purpose and expand our dimly lit view. 

Nations struggle and wars rage, all in the name of truth.  Contradictions to truth abound, yet truth remains constant, shining amid our turmoil and strife.  We rage and fight to proclaim our knowledge of truth, yet truth patiently waits to reveal its purpose.  We arrogantly boast that we possess truth, yet truth patiently waits for us to humble our souls. 

Truth cannot be contained by a mere fleshly vessel.  Knowing this is our first step to know more of what the immutable laws of truth offer.  Truth cannot allow itself to be used for false purposes.  Knowing this is our second step to understanding our reality and allowing truth to fill our need.  Truth will not be used to manipulate or alter what is true.  Knowing this allows us to humbly accept what truth sets out to accomplish.  Truth patiently waits.

Our ways are not yet the ways of truth.  Our thoughts are not yet the thoughts of truth.  Our sense of justice is but a glimpse of what truth demands.  The edges of truth are barely visible when seen through our dimly lit reality.  We can be assured in our pursuit of truth if we will only humble our thoughts and patiently seek the glories of what truth will bring to our souls. 

Truth moves about, quietly whispering in the ears of those who will listen.  It speaks throughout the ages of what is right and good and pure.  It gives a voice to the humble philosopher and shines a light for the seekers of knowledge.  Passed along from generation to generation, its illuminations multiply.  Called by many names, it quietly proclaims its wisdom, allowing us to grow in our understanding and control.

Truth asks only one thing of us: to humbly set our minds in the midst of knowledge and toward the pursuit of bettering others and ourselves.  Truth patiently waits for us to seek and discover the rewards it has waiting for a generation that will plum the depths of its boundless and abundant seeds of potential.  

Truth is the pursuit, but meaning is the reward.  The rewards of meaning and the pursuit of life are the answer to the ageless questions that have haunted man since truth first began its work; who am I and what is my purpose?  Before truth fully answers these questions in your heart, it has one expectation.

As you gasp your last breath of life, what will run through your mind?  What thoughts will you have about your life and the purpose for which you were formed?  The two questions truth will answer in our lives--who am I and what is my purpose?--will become startlingly clear to you at this moment, the final humbling moment of physical life.  As you have your last thought, this will be the moment at which you realize the impact you had on others, the moment when you realize that you either lived your purpose on this earth or you missed your purpose completely.

Until this moment, truth hesitates to answer our questions.  It waits patiently, eagerly, hoping it can bring the answers to light before our light fades and our eyes close for the last time.  For a select few mortal souls, the seekers of knowledge, the meaning to these two questions will be answered before this moment arrives.  Truth will gladly answer these questions but has an expectation which is hidden in an ancient riddle, the parts of which have been scattered in full view since truth first began its work.

The first part of the riddle is this:  no matter where we go, there we will be, and until we realize that we can only be where we go, we will only be where we are.  Going is the only way to travel along the path of truth.  Just as the apprentice must stay with his master, truth will accept no less than this from us.  We realize at this moment that answering the riddle starts with the journey.

The journey with truth starts with the first step and is the second part of the riddle.  The first step in the journey is the most important step and cannot be taken in the wrong direction.  It is at this point that most souls will stumble and lose their way along the true path.  Without taking the proper steps in the proper directions, truth will continue without its apprentice.  As  sojourners with truth, we are bound to the path of truth and thus begin our journey in life.

Our journey begins when we enter through the gate of life at birth and lasts until we finally move through the portal of death.  It is between these moments that truth forges our destiny in the crucible of life.  It is at this moment that truth decides our fate, the one purpose that we were formed from nothing to accomplish.  What happens between these two moments, birth and death, will decide our fate.  Truth, with its friend fate, decides our future destiny and dictates our purpose as we walk the path of life.  Discovering purpose in life starts with the first step and ends with the last.  Where we go, there we are, together with truth, stepping forward toward our destiny. 

What, then, does truth require of the knowledge seeker along the journey?  To discover the answer to this question, we must first learn humility.  Truth will not reveal itself until we are humble before it.  This may happen along the path or will finally happen when we exit this life through the portal of death.  We are powerless against the eventuality of humility, so pushing ourselves beyond self will be the first step to understanding what truth requires of us.

To gain humility, we realize that our soul is unique to the purpose for which it was created.  We choose our path through free will, and the choices we make along the way define who we are and will further define the unique steps of others.  The value we see in others will be reflected in the value we place on ourselves.  Free will is, therefore, the determining factor in our choice to be humble or to be selfish and self-centered.  Free will can lead us away from the self-deception that separates us from truth, or it will ultimately lead us away from the true path.  We are free to travel the paths of truth when our self-will is removed and we humble ourselves by seeking the good of the many.

Truth is simply the destination of a random and unpredictable journey.  As our soul walks to the grave, the steps taken along the way are dictated by free will.  Whether we seek evil or good, all paths end at truth.  For the seeker of knowledge, reward is gained and continues beyond the grave.  For the seeker of self, reward is pursued but never gained, ending at the grave.

This life is fleeting.  At our essence, we are souls trapped in a decaying corpse, a corpse moving about in time.  Will the precious time we have on this earth be lived for our own selfish ends, or will we take each step forward for the betterment of others?  Discovering our purpose for this movement in time is then reduced to these two choices and will define who we are when the end finally comes.  No matter where we go, there we will be, and until we realize that we can only be where we go, we will only be where we are.