Why Tell the Truth — Understanding the Structure of Reality
- Kris J. Simpson
- Apr 5
- 6 min read
“I feel as though my world is falling apart.”
“I don’t know what is real anymore.”
“I’m so angry that I can’t see straight.”
“It’s as if my world has been turned upside down.”
“I don’t believe I can trust anyone anymore.”
These are all possible utterances if you have ever felt betrayed by a breach of trust that shifted you into a new dimension of space and time. In this dimension, time moves in unsynchronized waves; it speeds up and slows down, creating a dark sea of chaos. It’s a state where you cannot determine whether you’re up or down because your reality has been shaken, leaving you disoriented. After all, truth has been contravened, and when deception infiltrates a functioning system, it threatens to collapse that very system.
For instance, someone you have permitted to enter your life and who has shaped your physical existence is not who you believe them to be. After depending on this person and weaving them into the fabric of your psyche, they have turned into the Jenga block removed from the foundation, leading your tower to crumble into fragments.
Order, or what the ancient Greeks called “logos,” signifying the divine reason that orders the cosmos and gives it form and meaning, is comprised of truth. How else could our reality be sustained if it were built on false pretences? If this were the case, it would collapse because it is void of integrity. Perhaps I’m overstating this metaphor, but I don’t think so.
The laws of the universe, also known as the 7 Hermetic Truths, shape reality and apply not only to the cosmos but also to the everyday individual striving to maintain order and cohesion within their collective groups. Trust and truth together form the foundation that has allowed Homo sapiens to flourish, so when it is breached, it will feel like Hell is occupying Heaven.
Misrepresentation and attempts to distort reality threaten to bring the ship down, so to speak, as they conflict with both nature and reality itself. While we can try, as we have and will, to permanently bend reality — something we have not surmounted and perhaps never will — virtual reality is the exception.
Consider a schemer, like an architect who cuts corners. They deceive clients by using a low-quality cement mix, pocketing the savings and increasing their wealth. However, this illusion of success doesn’t last. Reality will eventually expose the truth, putting every unstable project to the test. When it fails, the weak structure will collapse, taking with it the hopes and dreams built on an unreliable foundation.
Lying manifests in two forms: the first is blatant deception, which entails stating a falsehood, while many of our lies take a more justifiable shape, commonly referred to as “white lies” or lying by omission. This may arise from what you perceive as virtuous intentions, such as refraining from telling someone that their outfit looks terrible.
Conversely, instead of protecting another person’s feelings, you might withhold the truth about yourself to seem better in their eyes. For example, you might agree with their propositions when, in fact, you strongly disagree. A person living a lie may perpetuate one significant deception or perhaps a series of distortions of the truth.
Regardless, these lies must protect that falsehood, leading to unease, self-doubt, and a lack of assurance. The phrase “living a lie” suggests that the lie becomes one’s life, implying that it shapes the person’s decisions and behaviour rather than allowing them full agency over their life.
This condition manifests as a defensive posture, where one constantly looks over their shoulder to ensure they are covering their tracks and not being followed. Such a paranoid state can even develop when unfounded accusations are directed at the individual, leading to knee-jerk reactions that do not reflect reality.
For instance, when a woman is committing adultery, any accusations of her infidelity are likely to provoke a protective response, as one might expect. Conversely, if the same woman is falsely accused of not performing her job properly at work, she may still overreact, which would be unexpected. This tendency to exaggerate and struggle with emotional regulation arises from duplicity, fostering defensiveness against any perceived threat, even when it is unfounded. All of this occurs because a state of uncertainty has permeated her life and has become inescapable.
To tell the truth, as we understand it at any given moment, and to the best of our ability, is critical — even when it might be easier to stay silent, go along with the crowd, or omit details to avoid answering questions about what happened, or didn’t happen, thus avoiding potential conflicts with others. I have found myself in these positions quite often, and it isn’t easy.
However, expressing the truth externally is less significant than confronting the truth within ourselves. The damage that can occur when you deny a truth that has arisen in your consciousness can be far more harmful than any external lie you might tell for self-protection or personal gain.
For instance, consider someone in a relationship who knows they are being deceived. Suppose that person avoids investigating the situation, thus denying the truth, and the truth eventually comes to light publicly. In that case, they will experience the pain of betrayal and the deeper shame associated with it, especially since others now know it.
Expressing deceit can paradoxically lead you to believe in your own lies, as they become your reality, despite being entirely fabricated. This occurs when a lie is repeated numerous times over an extended period, entrenching itself in your perception so that you can express it without any doubts, believing in it wholeheartedly.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky eloquently captures this dilemma nicely:
“A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others. When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest form of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal in satisfying his vices. And it all comes from lying — to others and to yourself.”
Having the courage to express the truth- through both speech and actions- requires alignment; otherwise, it is not true but merely a perception of how we wish the truth to appear or how we want others to see us. This is where cognitive dissonance arises, and it becomes painful for us when it does because what we say does not match what we do.
If we can recognize this, perhaps others can, too, even if we try hard to hide it. However, we can never know for certain if we will be discovered and subsequently called out. Thus, our confidence deflates, knowing that we do not embody our words or have the competence to support our confidence.
Those who allow their careers, jobs, society, bosses, customers, parents, and friends to dictate their truth (what is of the greatest value) fall into an easy trap, as we are biologically wired to express our value (in hopes that it will be received and perceived as great) to others, seeking acceptance to secure our place in long-term relationships, our industry, family, or among friends.
In many situations, it can seem counterintuitive to express the truth because it often carries substantial risk. We are herd animals congregating in groups for protection. To stand apart from that group resembles the metaphor of the black sheep; standing out in a crowd is risky, and sometimes it’s better to be a zebra: striped for camouflage, making a herd appear as a mass of black and white, which helps to obscure the individual animals, a feature that can be beneficial when in need of protection.
However, living a life focused on finding and maintaining safety may be uneventful and lacking in adventure, though it is undoubtedly safe. And speaking the truth, which may not be a popular sentiment, can distance you from the crowd or make you a target for predators.
Therefore, speak the truth when it matters most, but be prepared for the consequences, which can be seen as good or bad — but will align with reality, saving you from a life of self-despise.
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