READ BETWEEN THE LINESWhat is reality anyway? According to the dictionary, it is the quality or state of being actual or true. Reality can be a person, an entity, or an event, that is actual. It can also be the totality of all things possessing actuality, existence, or essence or something which exists objectively and in fact. Reality is not black and white. Reality is different for every person and their experiences; it is an open definition, open to interpretation.
First, for some reality isn’t based on the real world such as a schizophrenic. A schizophrenic can’t tell the difference between the inside and outside world. They can become so attached to their imaginary world that they won’t even consider it as a figment of their imagination. They just can’t be convinced otherwise.
People who have auditory or visual hallucinations are confused because no one else can hear or see what they do. They wonder how come no one can hear what they are hearing. It’s a very lonely disease. It may be even as bad as losing your memory. There is a saying, “The mind is a dangerous neighborhood. Don’t go there alone.”
Next, some people live inside their heads. They live in fantasy. If we don’t like the world they live in, they turn to books, movies, or music. The list goes on and on. It’s easy to do this, especially, in our American culture. Natalie Bedingfield said, “Take me away, to a secret place, a great escape, take me away.” We want to feed our imagination and daydream all day in hopes that just by wishing for our dream house or dream person that it will come true. It’s nice to get lost in a book or lost in our lover’s eyes, but in the end we can’t escape life. Sooner or later the hype will go away and we will be back with our problems again. Someone said, “The feeling of being on top of the world is fleeting.” Douglas Everett said, “There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.”
Also, some people lie to themselves so much they believe it. So their reality becomes twisted.
After a while, lying about everything will eventually push everyone away from you. You may lie to yourself so much that no one can hit the buzzer to tell you to stop. There is a story about a man that kept lying to others that he needed help when he really didn’t; when he actually was in a situation where he was serious, no one believed him anymore. Earl Nightingale said, “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.”
Next, for some their reality is limited because it’s all they know. There’s a verse in the Bible: “My people perish for lack of knowledge.”
Wouldn’t you want to leave a better reality for others?
“The perfecting of one’s self is the fundamental base of all progress and all moral development,” Confucius .
“What’s real is up to you to decide.”
Where do you draw the line?
Where do you draw the line?
Where does the real world and the distorted world come together? We may never know and science can only tell us so much. We should let people come to their own conclusions. Reality is an open-ended subject and experienced in different forms and ways for different people. Reality is a gray area.
“Whatever you believe with feeling becomes your reality.” However; you have to work the work to reach that reality.