but of course, it's My Truth

I really like what Elizabeth Wurtzel writes, as a kind of disclaimer, in her memoir Prozac Nation. She starts of with a quote from the Talmud: 'We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.' She goes on to state that 'every word of this book is the truth. But of course, it's my truth.'

I find that quite a touching admission, to recognise that one's own understanding of how things happened is not necessarily the Ultimately Accurate and Rational version. My truth is not The Truth. It's an uncomfortable thought. It reminds me of one of the quotes at the beginning of P.J. O'Rourke's book, 'Holidays in Hell'. 'Everywhere you go, there you are.' That You, that annoying warped lens/interpreter/opinionated head-noise, is constantly smudging and dirtying The Truth.

In my first year of university I kept on psychotically trying to hop from one degree discipline to another. When I told my mother that I wasn't carrying on with Psychology and Physiology but was contemplating Medicine, French and Arabic or possibly Physiotherapy she brought me back down to reality quickly with a cutting, 'whatever course you run to, you can't run away from yourself.' Utterly unhelpful, extremely annoying, perfectly true.

In the end I switched to Theology.

Rushes - Fragments of a Lost Story

This is a photo from Rushes, a new piece the Royal Ballet is performing this month. I usually don't really like ballet photos that much - you lose all the poignancy of the movement and music and get stuck with the silly tutus (my sister calls them 'those farcical parasols bobbing round their hips). But this photo captures something of the piece. More photos here http://http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/gallery/2008/apr/22/dance?picture=333676334