True

Indeed in general I hold that there is nothing truer than happiness and nothing happier and sweeter than truth. (Leibniz, 1670)

Hemingway’s most recent “unfinished” novel that hit the stands a few years back was titled, True at First Light. (Ironically, I question whether the book was anything but "true".)

In the eighties, the one-hit-wonder band, Spandau Ballet, produced the song True. Here is a sampling of the lyrics:

With a thrill in my head and a pill on my tongue,
Dissolve the nerves that have just begun.
Listening to Marvin all night long.
This is the sound of my soul. (This is the sound)

Always slipping from my hands,
Sand's a time of it's own.
Take your seaside arms and write the next line,
Oh, I want the truth to be known.......

One of my favorite lines from the film Wonder Boys was when the greatness of James Leer’s unpublished novel was simply described as “true”. (James Leer was the Tobey Maguire character – the newest member of the “Wonder Boy” club.)

Why are so many people searching for truth? Isn’t it something that should be fairly obvious to find? If something is actually “true”, it should be anything but hidden. I’m sure that’s why there is only one true religion, right? That’s why the last two President elections have been landslides, am I correct? That’s why everyone makes the same type of art, eh?

TRUE - the meaning seems pretty straightforward. So maybe what complicates it is more the insinuation or essence of the word rather than the basic direct meaning. What implications are set-up by describing a feeling or object as “true”? What are we saying about ourselves when we describe something as “true”? How does this reflect in our personal philosophy for life and work?

“True” is one of my two favorite words, the other one is “lovely”… but more on that one later. - DN