Being of the persuasion that truth is as artificial a construct as those fabrications we call lies, I find myself in somewhat of a difficult position in approaching a zine submission that my friend alerted me to.

The idea of the piece is to tell a half-truth, or tell the truth with a slant. A concept which, on paper, sounds interesting, but in execution finds me wanting for a subject - any material at all, really. A theme, a moral, anything. To tell the truth I find this lack of ideas disturbing, as it reflects upon my atrophied ability to produce a body of work.

It truly worries me that this opportunity should find me lacking in adequate talent to meet it. Though, at its heart, I find my ability to play with my language - to enjoy the movement of words as they come - absent, though one hopes it is merely elusive.

So in this journal I have decided to organize my thoughts - to make them public and therefore, I hope, presentable. Such thoughts about the nature of truth will, with any luck, serve as a standard by which they may be slanted. At worst, this will be a pointless and largely ignorable exercise, performed for my own benefit.

In either event, it begins with a simple notion - that truth is not that which we express, but what we understand from expression. In many ways, a work of fiction might express a larger degree of truth than one concerned with fact - a misleading and misunderstood term, commonly misused in the place of "truth". Fact is a relative term, by my estimation - relative to the observations of those involved in its construction. While well-meaning and surely valiant in their efforts, those who seek out facts are rarely concerned with the pursuit of truth. In fact, many of those who find themselves in straits of fact are critical of truth-seekers, and in many ways they are justified in doing so. Truth, as a principle, has little instrumentality and utility when applied to our visceral existences. Truth will not win you money or fame - it is often the lot of the liar to reap such benefits. Fact has utility - fact is something that, once discovered, can provide a wealth of benefits even to those who doubt it.

Truth, on the other hand, is not visceral. It will not benefit those who do not know of it - and exists in a realm firmly outside the reach of mere words. It is the understanding, the base principle of knowledge that allows us to construct the basis for observation - for us to filter and percieve reality. It is, by definition, difficult to define, for it is that which escapes definition. Yet, we all have access to truth.

I think I have overcomplicated my elaboration, but for the time being, I will let it rest.