The truth is, there is no one collective truth. Each truth is individual to each person. Truth goes further than just facts. Truth is fact from the perspective of someone with millions of individual moments which have led that person to experience their truth in their own way. I might be sitting next to someone, and we both see the exact same thing occur in front of us. But we see it differently, based on the way past experiences have influenced us, based on the way we were raised, based on the way each of our brains work. If someone then asked us each individually, “Well, what happened? Tell the truth,” we would likely tell it differently. Neither one of us would be lying, we would just have different truths. Truths are different than opinions though, because opinions are judgements, which stem from biases. Truths are just ways that things are seen, felt, and expressed. On the other hand, opinions are beliefs that impact what one sees, that may or may not waver based on additional information. Truths are transient, they change each time a new event occurs, whereas opinions are much more unchanging. In fact, sometimes people’s opinions actually cloud their truths. They may have biases that make them believe a certain thing will occur, and then when something else happens, they may be unwilling to accept that their opinion may have been wrong or that their truth is different than they thought it would be. One example of this is Trump supporters in the election. Many are reluctant to admit certain things, for example the truth that the President is quite racist. They have an opinion that he isn’t racist, so even though they see new facts which demonstrate that he is in fact racist, their opinions skew their truth in a way that fits their original narrative. This is where there is a fine line between people having their own truths, and people ignoring facts. Truths can only be truths if they take all the information available into account, and don’t purposely block off some parts of it, even if it is unfavorable. People must begin by opening themselves up to seeing the whole truth, and then they will be able to share it with others. I believe that it starts as a conscious effort, but it can become natural with practice. It’s not always easy, as Nietzsche said, “Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed,” but ultimately living truthfully, to yourself and others, is the only way I believe you can have a fulfilling life.