When I was little I heard my father say a saying… “The Truth Doesn’t Offend” and it was something that stuck with me. However, as my life progressed, and thanks to my wife’s constant words, I discovered that although this saying was true, it needed to be completed: to live and always tell the truth, but accompanied by charity.
Now let’s see what the words truth and charity mean, according to the RAE Verdad. It is the conformity of things with the concept that the mind forms of them.
Charity. It is the attitude of solidarity that one has with the suffering of others.
From our simplest conversations to the deepest and most difficult ones we have to address, in any area of our life, we must proceed in a clear, direct and firm way, but with charity.
Now, it is difficult, which is why many of you may tell me: it is one thing to say it and another to do it. But because it is difficult, we should not avoid it, but, on the contrary, we should continually practice it. Let’s remember that like any art, practice makes perfection.
To help, I share with you some obstacles that I think we have all faced on a daily basis to always live in the truth…
• False humility. Not recognizing the virtues that I have, because knowing these, I must put them at the service of others.
• Boasting. I attribute virtues and merits that I do not have, because I want to look good to others.
• Hypocrisy. Saying one thing and doing another, as the saying goes, “acting double standards”
• Adulation. It is giving another an exaggerated and interested “compliment.”
Let us cement our relationships, make them lasting over time, being close to the people who matter to us and who care about us (caring about each other in a genuine and generous way, applying fraternal correction if necessary) only then can we always live in the truth with charity.
Regarding this article, the poet and former Brazilian diplomat, Vinícius de Moraes said: “Life is the art of encounter, although there is so much disagreement about life.”
What do you say? You dare. Let’s go against the current, on topics that are not trends or fashion. I assure you that we will leave a better world.
