Every time I force myself to go outside something wonderful happens (Humans of New York photographed subject) - Brandon Stanton

Stories keep us tuned in. Stories sell newspapers. Stories get clicks. Yes, truth matters. But when it comes to the bottom line, journalism isn’t a truth business. It’s a story business.

The moment I saw him, I turned to a friend, and said: “He’s the one.” He was gorgeous. […] Na he was so funny. Not Jim Carrey funny, but a quiet kind of funny. Which is exactly the kind of funny that I wanted. […] We’ve been together for twenty years now. […] Our kids are getting older, and we’re at the point where we have to reconnect. Sometimes we come home from work and don’t say a word to each other. Sometimes we’ll take a road trip and I’ll realize that it’s just been me and the kids talking the entire time. Or if we’re in bed together, we’ll face the other way. He thinks that just being together is enough, and it’s do hard for me to tell him that I’m lonely.

You can feel when the person is being truthful, no matter what language they’re speaking. Because truth is often spoken haltingly. With pauses. Like it’s being dug up, one spoonful at a time, from somewhere deep. Truth feels heavy. It has gravity.