Becoming true

Davis Guggenheim may not be a household name, but he directed An Inconvenient Truth. There is an interview with him on WorldChanging.

If you have seen the film, you may have felt the power projecting from Al Gore as he spoke on this subject so dear to his heart. What is this strange and stirring power?

It would be a mistake to think that such power is simply due to the importance of the facts he was presenting. And it would similarly be a mistake to think that such power is somehow inherent to Al Gore. Indeed, if you read the interview above, you will note that Guggenheim had to convince to him to tell his personal story, which Gore felt was irrelevant.

The power you felt was something shining through Al Gore that comes actually when people stop trying so hard to be someone, or do something, or present themselves in a certain way. It comes when people get out of their own way. We can call it many things, but maybe in light of the film's title, we should just call it "telling the truth."

Here is a bit more on truth that I found intriguing and worth pondering:

One of the primary characteristics of psychologically or spiritually mature people is that they never lie to themselves. Truth is not the same as facts. Facts alone carry no power, whereas truth does.

The awesome freedom and profound peace [from the perfection of truth] have nothing to do with how much we know, whom we know, how rich, smart, or beautiful we are, or who admires or even loves us. Rather, it has everything to do with telling ourselves the truth and, in doing so, becoming a true person.

Through mindfulness we discover a truth that is deeper than beliefs. If we don't become someone who is true, we have neither peace nor freedom. When our life is firmly based on truth, peace is not something we have -- it is who we are.