Top 10 Differences Between Truth and Reality

The interchangeable use of “truth” for “reality” and vice versa is pretty widespread. In fact, way back on November 27, 2010 I took to Twitter to highlight what I believed was a key distinction: 

TMT: There is a difference between reality and truth–the former can sometimes have shades of gray, the latter is always black and white. #in

A lack of knowledge of the truth does not belie its existence or confer it a nebulous status. In their personal and professional lives, ordinary people often conflate reality with truth. However, those pursuing a spiritual path and seeking the “eternal truth” are exempt from my discussion, since they tend to live in a reality that mere mortals will find hard to comprehend. 

“Keeping it real,” is a phrase commonly used, especially among younger generations, who seem to favor “real” over “truth.” It’s almost like they want to avoid the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth… so they’d rather just keep it real without help from any higher power? But I kid the kids, only to make a point. There are indeed subtle differences between reality and truth; inasmuch that the former exists but only the latter can confirm its existence in any given circumstance.

The great scientist, Albert Einstein, had observed: 

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. 

There could be no more glaring example of the increasing dichotomy between reality and the truth, then in the proliferation of “reality shows” on television in the past decade. These shows conflate their heavily edited versions of reality with the truth and seemingly present it as such. It’s almost like these shows have gauged that their audience wittingly accepts their version of reality as the truth.

 So where does reality end and the truth begin? Or, more accurately, how do we uncover the truth that is embedded in reality? Clearly the truth is always omnipresent in reality, but on occasion it just takes time to surface. It’s why the father of our nation, George Washington, had intoned:

Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains taken to bring it to light. 

Knowing how illusive reality can be and how challenging the search for the truth, even in a non-spiritual context, can become, let me attempt to shed some light on this dichotomy with my very own, “Top 10 Differences Between Truth and Reality:”

1. Truth is absolute, Reality is cognitive. 

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan had famously said:

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts. 

If we simply substitute “reality” for opinion and “truth” for facts, his words of wisdom are equally valid in our dichotomy. While different people may perceive the reality of a given situation differently, there is always one, and only one, version of the truth for that situation.

2. Truth hurts, Reality bites. 

The ecosystem that surrounds the truth in any given situation is the reality of that situation as perceived by its individual participants. In a business situation, the truth might be as stark as the sudden cancelation of a critical multimillion-dollar order. However, reality bites various functional groups in the company’s ecosystem in different ways, even as the truth hurts the company’s revenue stream. 

3. Truth is singular, Reality is manifold. 

In our company example above, the reality of the lost order is perceived differently by the finance guy worried about cash flow, by the purchasing guy dealing with inventory, by the manufacturing guy saddled with an idle assembly line, by the sales guy not making his numbers, etc. 

4. Truth is objective, Reality is subjective. 

The truth can be pleasant or it can be bitter. Regardless of outcome, the truth is determinative – it has finality to it. It is what it is… unlike reality, which can be interpreted in different ways by the various people it affects. The CEO of the business, in our earlier example, might see the sudden cancelation of a big order as a sign to undertake a major overhaul of his company’s operations. 

5. Truth is permanent, Reality is ephemeral. 

Again, going back to the company that suffered a sudden cancelation of a big order, once the CEO acts on the truth, the subjective reality of the company’s various functional groups begins to fade.

6. Truth emancipates, Reality constrains. 

There isn’t any more complicated example of the truth setting one free than by coming clean when a spouse has had an extramarital affair… always more easily said than done. The reality of that entire situation can constrain one or more participants from voluntarily divulging the truth, which would be liberating yet very difficult to fulfill.

7. Truth redeems, Reality informs.

The best that reality, viewed from anyone’s perspective in any given situation, can do is inform or misinform the participants within the ecosystem. Only the truth can offer redemption, whether it is the spouse getting out of a bad marriage or the CEO steering a company out of a bad situation.

8. Truth comes from the heart, Reality follows from the head.

Very often the truth remains suppressed because analytical and logical thinking suggests that all affected players within the ecosystem would be better off, at least in the near term, if it were so. Both, the cheating spouse and the worried CEO know that their respective realities indicate that the can could be kicked down the road. But, within their hearts they know the truth – postponing the inevitable sometimes creates a snowball effect. The reality is you have to know when to listen to your heart. 

9. Truth requires courage, Reality reflects convenience.

The cheating spouse and the worried CEO listening to their hearts might seem ironic, but facing the truth requires courage. More often than not, the convenient thing to do is the cowardly thing to do.

10. Truth is always real, Reality is not always true.

At the end of the day, the truth will prevail – it is the ultimate and only reality. There is no second-guessing the truth like we can do with reality. What is real to you maybe unreal to somebody else? In fact, as Einstein said, “reality is merely an illusion…” until it reveals the truth!

The finality of truth can be summed up in this quotation from The Bhagavad Gita:

What is not real never was and never will be. What is real always was and cannot be destroyed. 

So yes, by all means, keep it real, but always seek the truth!