The spiritual writer James Allen wrote 100 years ago that the unceasing change, insecurity, conflict, and mysteries of life make it essential to find some basis of certainty on which to center and rest if happiness and peace of mind are ever to be found.

The principles of Truth were discovered, he wrote, by searching and practice.  Truth has never seemed more important or confusing than it is in our time.

I am drawn to the idea of certainty, of the principles of Truth. I’ve thought about truth more this year than any year before it because we have lost a common sense of its truth.

I know the truth when I see it or heart it; I feel it in my heart and soul. I would have to be called a sinner because I lied to myself for much of my life.

A lie is a betrayal, no matter where it comes from.

Our politics now demand that we choose from different truths and different realities, and that has, in some ways, torn us apart as a nation. We struggle to find a common sense of purpose and right or wrong.

If there is no common truth, or truth is expendable, then we are all strangers, condemned to pain and argument for all of our lives. Lies kill communities, eat away at our sensibilities.

When everything can be a lie, then truth bleeds and hides flees behind the clouds.

But it never dies; it is always there, just below the surface. Truth left us for a while but seemed to have come back.  I think this is a cycle in the world, sometimes we seek the truth, at others we run from it.

We know it when we see it and hear it; the truth is the heartbeat of the soul.

My true life began when I stopped lying to myself and began to embrace the truth as a sacred part of being human. Truth is the pathway to trust and love.

In our public life, nothing is a certainty; nothing is a given,  above argument. From racial justice to economic justice to the very earth, our values are sometimes turned upside down; everything is political; everything is an argument. Truth drowns; it is overwhelmed by too many lies.

If you hear lies long enough and loud enough, it’s sometimes hard to remember what truth is and why it’s so important.

The truth is a beautiful and fearful thing and deserves respect and caution. Religion once gave us a common truth, but lately, politicians have taken over that role. Religion did a better job than politicians do.

Christ wrote that truth is the path for us to tread; every being who walks that path finds grace. It doesn’t matter what religion a person professes if they are striving to be honest and caring and purify their own heart. If so, she or he is walking this path.

While politics, opinions, theologies, and religions differ, right and wrong does not differ. Neither does our understanding of cruelty or greed.

Theologians call these the principles of divine virtue. I walk on this path; I hope to reach this glorious goal of real Truth before I die. Truth is my certainty, my basic principle, a faith I firmly believe is as powerful as any other force on earth.

First, I am honest with myself. Then, I am honest with others. Then, I am called to practice good, small acts of great kindness for the needy and the vulnerable.

Truth first and last.

Mark Twain wrote that if you tell the truth, you don’t really have to remember anything. The truth makes me lighter,  stronger, safe.

I believe truth is a divine virtue. There are many opinions, but only one truth, and I think we all know what that is in our hearts, whether we can practice that or not.

As with fingers and objects, so goes the thoughts and deeds of humans. Two and two make four, and will always make four.