Can we really speak truthfully?

Zen master Bankei once said, "because I cannot see a person's face I listen to what they say." He goes on to ask what is it that one really hears beneath the words. It is a teaching on how we form and express ourselves and how the truth somehow gets buried beneath the words. He teaches that once we form an idea and name it we are far away from the real truth.
Is it difficult to speak the truth? How often do we temper the truth and end up in a place that is both far from the truth and turns unsatisfactory, painful, and regretful? Too often we try to soft pedal the truth because we are afraid that it will do harm. But, are we doing more harm by covering over the truth?  There is an old saying that, "the truth hurts".  Maybe the better thing to say is that hiding the truth hurts. This is a good day to take a look at how we hide or filter the truth, how hard it is for us to be in the place of truth and speak from it. It doesn't mean you have to do anything with what you learn right away. What is important is to take stock of how this works for you. What to do with it?  There is nothing to do---just be with it. That is the lesson: there is nothing to do, just understand and the rest will follow.