Skip to main content

The Truth Comes From Visible Sources

We like to imagine that truth is buried deep, hidden away like a secret treasure waiting for the chosen few to uncover it. We search in books, in mysteries, in whispers of what might be. Yet often, the truth is not hidden at all — it comes from visible sources. It is there, plain as daylight, though our eyes and hearts may not always want to recognize it.

Think about the people around us. How many times has someone’s behavior told us exactly who they are, but we chose to ignore it? The friend who only calls when they need something. The leader who speaks of service but lives in luxury at the people’s expense. The partner whose actions never match their words. We see these truths in plain sight, but we excuse them, cover them, or tell ourselves a different story. Later, when disappointment comes, we act surprised — yet the truth was always visible.

Why then do we miss it? Part of it is human nature. We crave mystery. We want the comfort of believing that the truth is hidden somewhere out there, rather than sitting uncomfortably in front of us. To accept the obvious often feels too ordinary, too unromantic. Sometimes it even feels too painful. Because once we acknowledge what we see, we are faced with the responsibility of responding to it.

On a personal level, this plays out in relationships, work, and choices. On a societal level, it is even clearer. The visible signs of corruption, inequality, or environmental decline stare us in the face daily. Yet how often do we dismiss them as exaggerations, or tell ourselves “it’s not so bad”? In Kenya, for instance, we repeat the phrase “hii maisha ni ngumu” (life is hard), but in the same breath ignore the visible systems and decisions that keep many trapped. The truth is not buried — it is openly displayed in how resources are allocated, how leaders act, and how society normalizes struggle.

The unseen, in many ways, is easier to live with than the visible truth. The unseen allows us to hope blindly. The visible truth asks us to face discomfort. And so we turn our heads, scroll past, or cover our ears.

But what would change if we began to believe the visible? If we took people’s actions at face value instead of hoping for hidden depths that contradict them? If we stopped dismissing the obvious realities in front of us and instead allowed them to guide our choices?

Perhaps we would stop being surprised when people show us who they are. Perhaps we would stop expecting systems to change when they are designed not to. Perhaps we would live with less illusion and more clarity, even if that clarity comes with pain.

The truth comes from visible sources. Not from the stories we invent to soften reality, not from the promises we cling to, not from the hidden depths we hope exist. The truth is already here, in what we see, hear, and experience every day. The question is not whether truth is visible, but whether we are ready to accept it.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Daniel Arap Moi — The Shadow and the Shepherd: A Deep Dive into Kenya’s Second President

If Jomo Kenyatta was the founding father, Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi was the long-reigning stepfather — sometimes protective, often punitive, and almost always enigmatic. He ruled Kenya for 24 years, the longest of any president to date. To some, he was the gentle teacher, Mwalimu , who kept the nation from tearing apart. To others, he was the architect of a surveillance state, a master of patronage and fear, the man who perfected repression through calm. This is a portrait of Daniel Arap Moi — not just as a ruler, but as a man shaped by modest beginnings, colonial violence, and the hunger for order in a chaotic time. Early Life: The Boy from Sacho Daniel Arap Moi was born on September 2, 1924, in Kurieng’wo, Baringo, in Kenya’s Rift Valley. He came from the Tugen sub-group of the Kalenjin community. His father died when he was just four. Raised by his uncle, Moi’s early life was marked by hardship, discipline, and deep Christian missionary influence. He trained as a teacher at Tambach ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Not All Disabilities Are Visible

Some pain does not leave a mark. Some exhaustion does not show in the face. Some people are carrying weights that have no name, no diagnosis, and no outward sign. We are used to recognizing suffering only when it can be pointed to — a bandage, a crutch, a cast, a wound. Something we can see. But the human interior is its own world, and often, the heaviest struggles live there. The Quiet Work of Holding Yourself Together There are those who walk into a room smiling, contributing, present — and yet they are holding themselves together one breath at a time. Not because they are pretending, but because they have learned to live with what would overwhelm another person. Some battles are fought inside the mind: The slow grey of depression The relentless hum of anxiety The sudden, unbidden memory that takes the body back to a place it never wants to return The deep fatigue that sleep does not cure And yet, life continues. The world moves. The dishes still need to be wa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Know Thyself: The Quiet Power of Naming Your Nature

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” — Carl Jung We live in a culture that equates good intentions with goodness, and ambition with ability. But very few people in Kenya—or anywhere—truly know what they are made of. We can name our qualifications and our dreams. But ask someone their vices or virtues, and they hesitate. Worse, they lie. The Danger of Self-Unawareness In Kenya today, many of us are wandering through life making choices—big, small, and irreversible—without truly understanding who we are. We end up in jobs we despise, relationships we shouldn’t be in, or positions of influence we aren’t emotionally or ethically equipped for. And at the root of this dysfunction is a simple truth: we don’t know ourselves. This is not a spiritual or abstract dilemma. It’s a deeply practical one. To know oneself is to understand your vices, your virtues, your weaknesses, and your strengths—not in a vague sense, but in detail. Let’s ge...
Post a Comment
Read more