--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth does not change according to…" description: "\"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it emotionally. A higher paradox confounds emotion as well as reason and there are long p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/flannery-o-connor-639_ability_the-truth-does-not-change-according-to-o_2345733.jpg" --- # The truth does not change according to our ability to… ![“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it emotionally. A higher paradox confounds emotion as well as reason and there are long periods in the lives of all of us, and of the saints, when the truth as revealed by faith is hideous, emotionally disturbing, downright repulsive…” quote by Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/flannery-o-connor-639_ability_the-truth-does-not-change-according-to-o_2345733.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/flannery-o-connor-639_ability_the-truth-does-not-change-according-to-o_2345733.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/flannery-o-connor-639_ability_the-truth-does-not-change-according-to-o_2345733.jpg) > “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it emotionally. A higher paradox confounds emotion as well as reason and there are long periods in the lives of all of us, and of the saints, when the truth as revealed by faith is hideous, emotionally disturbing, downright repulsive. Witness the dark night of the soul in individual saints. Right now the whole world seems to be going through a dark night of the soul.” [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth remains constant despite our emotional capacity; confronting harsh reality can be painful and unsettling. **In simple terms:** Truth is unchanged; emotions may resist it. Key Takeaway Accept truth, even when uncomfortable. Themes faith truth emotion spiritual struggle Mood somber reflective Type philosophical spiritual literary When to use this quote - personal crisis - spiritual awakening - ethical decision making - counseling - public discourse Key Concepts existentialism theology psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when truth feels threatening? - What practices help endure uncomfortable truths? A Different Perspective Emotional denial can prevent honest engagement with reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dark night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-night/) [Dark night of the soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-night-of-the-soul/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it emotionally. 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Otherwise there is no access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-important-questions-are-answered-by-not-liking-only-but-disliking/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) ## More by Flannery O'Connor > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“I don’t know how to cure the source-itis except to tell you that I can discover a good many possible sources myself for Wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-don-t-know-how-to-cure-the-source-itis-except-to-tell-you-that-i/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“For the fiction writer himself the whole story is the meaning, because it is an experience, not an abstraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/for-the-fiction-writer-himself-the-whole-story-is-the-meaning-because/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Everything that gave her pleasure was small and depressed him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/everything-that-gave-her-pleasure-was-small-and-depressed-him/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/to-the-hard-of-hearing-you-shout-and-for-the-almost-blind-you-draw/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“He felt his hunger no longer as a pain but as a tide. He felt it rising in himself through time and darkness, rising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/he-felt-his-hunger-no-longer-as-a-pain-but-as-a-tide-he-felt-it/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/where-you-come-from-is-gone-where-you-thought-you-were-going-to-never/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Technique in the minds of many is something rigid, something like a formula that you impose on the material; but in the best stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-something-rigid-something-like-a/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“There are all kinds of truth ... but behind all of them there is only one truth and that is that there's no truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/there-are-all-kinds-of-truth-but-behind-all-of-them-there-is-only-one/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Mrs. May winced. She thought the word Jesus should be kept inside the church building like other words inside the bedroom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/mrs-may-winced-she-thought-the-word-jesus-should-be-kept-inside-the/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [I feel that discussing story-writing in terms of plot, character, and theme is like trying to describe the expression on a face by saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-feel-that-discussing-story-writing-in-terms-of-plot-character-and/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [She had observed that the more education they got, the less they could do. 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