Truth Teller

They say - Suffering is the gap between what we believe to be true and reality.

Often times the truth is known to us. It is just that we are unwilling to accept it. The truth, that a venture that you are working on will never take off. The truth, that someone terminally ill will pass away. The truth, that there you are probably not good enough for a job.

Einstein said that only a fool would try doing the same thing and expect different results.

But we often see people doing the same thing hoping for different results. It is not that they do not know, it is just that they are unwilling to accept the truth.

In such instances, what one needs is a “truth-teller”.

Take, for instance, a family where the head of the family is terminally ill. That life is only going to prolong the misery of everyone involved. That life is no longer going to deliver any joy. But… huge treasures are spent in the pursuit of keeping the person alive. At great distress to health and wealth, the family rallies around trying to keep the person from being declared clinically dead.

The truth is that there is no more “life” left to live. Everyone involved knows the truth. But almost none of them can be the “truth-teller”.

How many can go up to the family and tell them to pull the plug? That there is nothing good that would arrive from forcing life into the person.

Even more importantly who would the family listen to?

A terminally ill parent needs to be taken off life support. Your sibling can tell you that truth; your cousin cannot.

You need to shut down your company it is going nowhere. Your partner can tell you that truth; your family cannot.

You are not good enough for a job. Your best friend can tell you that truth; your colleague cannot.

Who delivers the message matters more than the message itself.