The Truth by India.Arie

With so many reasons to love someone, how could you not?

Transcript

The Truth by India.Arie

So many monumental, landscape-altering events happened in 2001. Of course, there was the horrific 9/11 attack. I remember falling asleep to reruns of A Different World and then awakening to one. Instead of seeing Denise Huxtable and Whitley Gilbert on my TV screen, I saw smoke coming from the twin towers, bodies rumbling through the streets of New York, and reporters struggling to find words.

For all of its its unforgettable devastation, 2001 was also a huge year for societal innovation. The encyclopedia moved online when Wikipedia launched. And Apple allowed us to carry 1,000 songs in our pocket when it introduced the iPod that October. 
One of my favorite albums was released in 2001 as well when India.Arie came on the scene with Acoustic Soul. When she released the first single, “Video,” I raved about it to a friend who shall remain nameless.

“Have you heard it?” I shrieked. “I love what she’s saying! ‘Am I less of a lady if I don’t wear pantyhose?’”

“Ummmm yeah you are!” My friend answered.

Early college students, neither of us could claim to be feminists or even really rooted in any deep understanding of ourselves. But I knew I liked what India.Arie was suggesting. What she was doing for women in giving us permission to buck the rules of misogyny and patriarchy—even if not all of us wanted to. She promoted loving ourselves as-is, even if we didn’t look like the girls in the videos. Stating that a lady ain’t what she wears but what she knows, she set us free from daunting expectations tied to our appearance.

Then when the songstress released her follow-up album the very next year, Voyage to India, I was hooked. It held so much soul. India-Arie officially became one of my most beloved artists of the era.

I revel in artists finding unique ways to sing about love. I am enamored with the creative expression of adoration and why we believe a person to be extraordinarily adorable. I cannot get enough of witnessing all the ways one person brings another joy.

Like on The Truth, where India.Arie sings about all the reasons her partner is sicker than your average. But it’s not about the typical nice smile, strong arms, or fancy gifts. The song isn’t about anything tangible, really. As its title suggests, The Truth delves into something deeper.

Her motivation for loving this man stems largely from simply observing how he moves through the world. She loves the way that he treats his momma. The way he speaks. The way he thinks.

And then, once she given us an abundance of warm descriptions painting a vivid picture of this remarkable human. She delivers these lines:

If he ever left me, I wouldn't even be sad,
'Cause there's a blessing in every lesson
And I'm glad that I knew him at all

Imagine someone so exceptional that you feel fortunate to have even known them. To have simply orbited their universe for a brief time. Imagine being so touched, so irrevocably transformed for the better by a connection that you cannot ever regret it. My goodness, envision being so in awe of a partner that you can only let them go in grace.

This to me is the purest expression of love. To love someone so much that you are willing to set them free without malice, and allow them to potentially show someone else the love that left you inspired. Because it was never about you, or them. Unadulterated love was the story here. And who are we to attempt to taint or tame something so precious it can only be appreciated. 

Sometimes, all we can take with us is the feelings we felt and the lessons we learned, and let it prepare our hearts for the right person.