the truth box

the box of truth is currently not very filled up. you can fix that.

the above is something my 16-year-old son posted on a My Space bulletin board.
wow.

putting aside my desire to tweak his grammar, I was stunned when I read his posting. (he has no idea I did this ~ I snuck onto his communication page while he was in the other room, when I was supposedly checking my own email. I did check my email, but then I flipped over to his page and did the sneaky mom thing. luckily, he doesn't read my blog so I think I'm safe.)
he's not one of those kids who share their thoughts with their parents. I have to carefully phrase any question I ask (well, okay, I do this with all my kids) so that I'm not demanding or treading on private space with big spiked cleats. I avoid questions that can be answered with yes or no, as those end the conversation much too quickly and easily. I try to ask just enough to let him know I'm curious and open-minded, but not so much that I bother him. just trying to place that line is a challenge.
so, I'm always completely thrilled when I see something like this come from him. ah! there is thought inside that mind! it's not all about bands and football and complaints about schoolwork and his sisters. it's not all about ipods and razors and IM-ing and TM-ing and online gaming and Xboxes and Wii's and and and . . .
okay, today's posting is another "not about cycling at all" kind of post. I could add a few things here about how cycling allows me an opportunity to connect with my truth, that cycling will, every time, tell us the truth about how fit we are, and that cycling is truly the greatest gift I've received in this decade of my life. and I guess I just did, so now I have stayed loyal to my web log theme.
now back to my son's statements.

the truth box.
wouldn't it be cool if there really were this huge box that people could visit that was full of universal truths? that you could be given one each time you visit, and that you could know with complete certainty that this was truth? but then I turn to "whose truth is it?" are there really universal truths that hold for each one of us? of course you should know by now that yes, I believe there are. I believe that there are myriad universal truths that cannot be escaped. but this is my view, my belief, my perspective, and I obviously don't think like everyone else out there. the millions of people who believe as I believe could possibly be outweighed by more who don't.
this close to the presidential election it's difficult to believe that there are many universal truths that hold for all of us: I am astounded by the difference in perspectives in our world. I do not understand how we can see and experience things SO differently, when we all live a remarkably similar existence.

my son's statements made me think. I am not sure of his intention, but I took it as an offer to all of us to put more truth out there. to consider what we say before we say it. to be certain that our actions speak of truth. that we speak, act, and live our own truth.
the box of truth is not very filled up.
we can fix that.