Truth is like fire; few wish to be burned.
To be burned by one's truth, to allow truth to sear one's soul:
Here is the meaning and purpose of existence.
But ordinary life is the more attractive, easier alternative:
With family, friends, and the commitments they engender,
One may safely avoid the quest all one's life long.
We are asleep in the coolness of ordinary life.
But truth's fire may yet awaken us with the sting of its licks,
Compelling us to live our lives in its heat and light,
Helping us walk through its fire and not be burned.

Dennis A. Zelazny

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/truth-is-like-fire/