Aims Part 1
January 4, 2026
Aims Part 1: Truth
Welcome to this Daily Reflection series on Aims.
One of the most vital spiritual aims for the new year is telling the Truth—the commitment to seeking the truth, accepting it, and telling it.
At first glance, this may seem simple. But look closely: hundreds of times each day we encounter half-truths, distortions, exaggerations, and convenient omissions. And if we are honest, we sometimes feel tempted to offer our own versions of the truth when it suits us. Why doesn’t this work?
Because partial truths we tell ourselves are “good truths,” softened truths, or truths bent for comfort, are not rooted in reality, but for our narrative. When we ignore the natural laws that shape the universe, we end up living in a false world. And we cannot sustain a relationship with ourselves or with others in a false world. Such a world cannot support trust, either in others or in ourselves. But there is an even deeper reason truth matters: without truth, our identity dissolves.
If we repeatedly retreat into personal fantasies or self-created narratives, the structure of who we are begins to erode. Over time, we can lose our inner grounding entirely. This loss of self is the very state where entropy, unconsciousness, and what many traditions call “evil,” takes hold.
If a force wanted to undo the world, it would not need bombs, invasions, chemical warfare, germ warfare, or cyber warfare. Instead, it would need to spread falsehood. It places untruth in positions of power. And it gets people to doubt what they see with their eyes, and even more tragically, what they know in their hearts. It rewards lies and punishes those who stand in truth.
Under such a system, life might continue biologically, but spiritually it would be lost. Humanity would be reduced to the “living dead.” We would have a planet of people shut off from our souls. The only way to prevent a takeover by non-truth is for each of us to tell the truth. Truth begins inwardly.
In truthfulness, we are honest with ourselves about our feelings, motives, strengths, and areas of growth. We tell ourselves the truth about our passions. We stop editing ourselves to appear more righteous, more wounded than we really are, or less wounded. In truthfulness, we are willing to let many chips fall where they may, in an overriding need to live in truth.
And in our interactions with others, when a lie would be convenient, we choose integrity instead. We offer the truth as gently and clearly as we can. Over time, people notice. They begin to trust us. And trust, like truth, spreads.
This is how the light of truth moves through the world: Person to person, word by word, moment by moment. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.”
Spiritual practice: After a period of quiet reflection, take time to articulate your own philosophy of truth. What does truth mean to you? What does it require? How do you wish to embody it?
Self-inquiry: How does your commitment to truth help prevent the spread of the power of lies—in yourself, in relationships, and in the broader world?
Prayer:
Dear God, Make me an instrument of Your truth. Amen.
