Creative Writing Paper

Today, I'm posting a paper I submitted for my Creative Writing class last night. Everyone seemed to like it.

Allen Hanson
English 209
Truth Essay
11-18-08


Truth is not my friend. Nor is it yours. No one gives truth advice, nor can anyone spin truth to his or her own use. It is independent of us.
When talking about truth, it is important to understand a few things about it.
First, truth is objective. It doesn’t come from any of us; therefore, none of us can claim to own it. About the best that can be hoped for is that truth owns us. In a way, truth does own us; one cannot violate truth without experiencing the consequences thereof.
Truth is also basic. It underlies our hopes, dreams, opinions, fears, ideas, theories, and speculations. Truth is physical, emotional, mental and moral gravity. When we agree with truth, it steadies us; when we don’t, it merely sucks.
Truth is razor-sharp. That makes it very useful, and very dangerous, too. It can be used as a scalpel, to excise the warts on the character or stains within the soul. The sword that is truth is best directed at oneself.
Truth is immutable to charm, manner or persuasion. It cares not how you look, whether you just did your hair, how much you spent on your clothes, how shiny your shoes are, or what cologne you are wearing. It is blind to style, affectation, and reputation. It is unconcerned with popularity, politics of any kind, the latest polls, or the results of any election.
If you are looking for someone to take up your cause, to be your buddy, to be loyal to you and follow you around, forget about truth: Buy yourself a golden retriever.
But I don’t want to give truth a totally bad rap, because it doesn’t deserve one. When you bend to truth, and let it shape your thoughts and your character, it is the strongest ally you could have. It is like moral steroids, making you a stronger person than you could ever have imagined being. It makes you King of the Mountain and enables you to fight off those who would dethrone you. And if you have decided to be Truth’s friend, you'd better be ready to fight; truth is seen as a bully by many and they will accost you when they see you are together.
Truth doesn’t come to you with flattery and phony positivism. It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme or an instant diet; it’s a take-up-your-cross-daily-and –follow-me thing. It’s not stealing kisses behind the high-school gym; it’s a commitment; a promise that the joy will at least equal the pain in the end.
In my experience, truth is a shelter from all life’s storms. The problem is, the storms seem to intensify when you stand next to truth. When you stand next to truth, you become like an anvil. Hammers may land blows upon you; in the long run, you’ll find that you either break the hammers, or just wear them out.
Truth makes a great gift, but it doesn’t play well with others. It is not an extrovert, but is capable of mass effect as well as great intimacy. Truth is neither an accessory nor an ornament. It is a not a tapestry or a great piece of art; it is more like the concrete that makes up the foundation of your house. Truth is not a decoration; it is the wall that pulls all the decorations together and makes them work.
Truth is like the rudder of a ship. If you don’t know where to look for it, you won’t find it. However, truth and your relationship to it, do determine the path of your life. The good thing about truth is that if you get away from it, you can get right back to it. However, it’ll take a while to get back on course. That’s harsh, but it’s the nature of sailing upon the sea of life.
I don’t really like truth; but it’s so important to my life that I have to delight myself in it. The Hebrew word translated “delight” in the Psalms and Proverbs in the Bible means “to bend,” not “to have a warm feeling about.” As I bend myself to truth, it does make me feel happy…eventually.
I heard a preacher once say, “The Truth shall set you free; but first, it will make you miserable.” I think he got that right.