The pursuit of Truth isn’t about “learning” so much as about discovery. Discovery happens through exploration. We explore not only by reading but also—perhaps more importantly—by listening,observing, living and experiencing.
Listen and Observe:
In the pursuit of Truth, part of the exploration process is observation and listening, similar to how Adam and Eve experienced discovery. They didn’t have infused knowledge, as angels do, but they didn’t have to learn either (not like we do). Yet they did have to discover. The eyes and ears provide information to the reason, and thinking about what we see/hear—discerning reality—orients us to Truth. There are two things to keep in mind concerning this
- We can’t see and hear clearly if we’re busying the senses with noise.
- Provide the reason with good data, and it will order you to Goodness. Give the reason poor data or bad data, and it will confuse Badness/Evil for Goodness/Truth/Reality. Maintain custody of the senses. Be careful about what you watch and listen to.
- Pay attention. Observe and discern. Listen to the world and to others. Know when to be silent. Know when not to speak, even if you have something to say. And know when to turn your eyes away from things that are unworthy of being seen.
- What you let into the mind through the ears and through the eyes cannot be washed out. Be careful of what you let in.
Live What You Believe
Finally, we pursue Truth and grow as holy people through experience and living. They are necessary for discovery. We could spend hours every day reading the scriptures and the works of the saint. But it’s all theory until it’s put into practice. Even cloistered religious orders that have no contact with the world put this into practice in their monasteries.
“If you do not live what you believe, you will wind up believing what you live.”
-Fulton J. Sheen
We are not made holy nor judged according to what we know but rather by what we do and how we respond and react to the situations, trials, and people we encounter. Out of love, God’s “expression” of himself resulted in creation. We must express the light of God that’s in us, too. Potential energy doesn’t get us to Heaven. Kinetic energy, rightly oriented, gets us there.
Reading can help lead us to Truth. But a serious pursuit of truth requires much more than that. Discovery is better than reading, and discovery happens through exploration. Explore with your eyes, your eyes, and with your lives, actions, and lived experience, and you will not only know Truth, you will ultimately become Truth (more on becoming truth in a later article/podcast).
