Reality
A few years ago, physicists finished a study about the nature of our reality. They came to the conclusion that, because of the way brain waves influence our optics, (long story short, i dont feel like getting all science-y and word-y currently) we’re all just living in one giant shared hallucination. Which is interesting and makes sense. As an example- when you take a psychedelic drug, though it appears to change what you see as real greatly, in everyone else’s shared hallucination the world and reality hasn’t changed at all. It’s just your perception of it that has. Just because your perceived reality has been altered, doesn’t mean it has for everyone else. Not even those standing right next to you. They wont see the World as you’re seeing it.
I think that’s important to remember. It’s easy to forget that reality isn’t actually factual. It is not, not really. Reality has and will always be an undefined enigma, that can never be studied or scientifically proven. My reality is not your reality. We’re all really just living in our own worlds. So when I can’t understand for the life of me why a person would do a certain thing, say a certain thing, act a certain way, I must remind myself that I don’t live in their world. And they don’t live in mine. And what’s real to them, isn’t real to me. And that’s perfectly acceptable.
I choose to live in a reality where people are kind, and choose not only to not harm others, but help them, even when they get nothing in return. Where we are generous with those we care about; with our time, our help, our love, our patience, our resources, whatever. Where we accept the social black sheep, happily, and view all strangers as potential future friends. Where we’re honest and open, instead of hiding our face behind a mask, both figuratively and literally. Where we’re proud of our views of what’s right and wrong, proud of our friends, and unconditionally stand behind our morals. And defend them, unwavering and without question, because we’ve spent real time contemplating many different sides and thus are confident in our final choice. Where we understand not everyone has or will have the same opinions as us, and that’s OK, we still accept them and treat them with respect, for who they choose to be; as long at they do the same for us. And where we realize we’re just humans; we’re inherently flawed, and we make mistakes, but its more beneficial to support each other when the legs are weak, than it is to kick them when they’re down.
And we also understand not everyone lives in this world. But I’m happy here. My friends and family are happy here. That’s what matters.
Life is finite. Our time here is rather short, in the grand scheme of things. And I’m not perfect, I’ll admit that on occasion I have reacted to vitriol directed towards me in unsavory, downright cruel ways, even if it’s only perceived and not actual... It’s hard not to. I’ve even been the source of evil towards others. And that shames me. Endlessly. Because you know that no amount of apologies will take back the way you made them feel or erase their pain. To trivialize that with just an “im sorry” seems like such a shallow, unworthy disservice. Humans are still generally clumsy creatures, we act in ways that are contrary to our conscious, that we know are wrong. And we feel guilt. And even more than that. I’m not sure there’s a word for it, to be honest. I unfortunately know the feeling though.
So, we work towards correcting ourselves, to alleviate any possibility of future guilt. To seal our wounds so we don’t infect others. And because we know it’s the right thing to do. Not just for ourselves, but for those around us. Sometimes it’s the ones closest to us, the ones least deserving of the pain, that are our victims. Those are the ones which have the power to completely destroy us and who we are, because we’d suffocate under the pressure of it. It’s the same ones we struggle so hard to admit we’ve wronged, too. I’ve stepped outside of my world, into the weird void that exists in between two worlds, and its a dangerous place. It takes courage to expose your soul and make yourself vulnerable by stepping into that void. But risks must be taken, or you won’t discover anything that could enrich your reality.
A bit naive, perhaps. Reckless. But that’s fine. I’ve always been quite thrilled to live my life close to a steep ledge. And sometimes those which you choose to step into the void for hurt you, deeply; and you have to crawl back to your safe bubble quite disheveled, but not yet dead. And life goes on.
That’s just the nature of it. But I’d much rather take those reckless close to the edges and in the dark void chances, than to not.
And there are those who do and will try to hurt you. They’ll throw pebbles so small that have no chance of ever killing you, with the purpose being to antagonize you for no reason. They’ll try to crush you with words that hurt worse than any rock could. They’ll laugh at you when you stumble or fall, instead of offering a hand up, or turn their back when they see you approach, instead of greeting you with a hug.
And you have to let them. Otherwise, you get swept up in deflection and petty vengence and pain. No one wins in a war of words. Or worse, you become just like them. Coldness and cruelty towards others is a fast spreading virus, and before you know it the entire planet is an unfriendly place if it’s allowed to spread.
When the reality is, for everyone involved, that you’re nice people, who have scars. And if you let it go too long, you’ll lose them. You make the decision to walk away, or stay. Not based on what you think you should do because of previous situations, or what you think is in the others best interest. The decision works best if it’s chosen in that moment and only for that person.
You have to figure out the why on your own. The things that matter in my reality can’t be touched, counted, described or seen. The forces that really kick ass are all invisible. Power, time, gravity, love.
And unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty.
The point is, you alone choose your World, and what’s real. And eventually you’ll find the others who have made their reality the same, and we’ll eventually find the world becomes a brighter, better place that way. There’s darkness too. But we choose if that’s where we want to live. We don’t have to live in the artifical reality that someone else has manufactured for us. They can’t force us to, try as they might- and I dont want to live there. It seems dark and frightening and full of people I wouldn’t trust, who worship consumerism instead of nature.
The entire planet is filled with so much beauty, everywhere you look, you just have to remmeber to see it. Seek the good. And if one day you realize that you aren’t happy- look up, glance around and really observe the reality that you’ve constructed for yourself, your shared hallucination. And get to know the others you share it with. Question it, kick it to test sturdy-ness. It’s OK to outgrow it, even ones you’ve spent years so meticulously perfecting, that’s the beauty of it. We don’t have to be chained there, in places that no longer fulfill us. We aren’t meant to be.
And realize that you can change it any time you want, if you find it’s not bringing you happiness. We do have that power, many of us have just forgotten. We each have the power to shape and create our own reality.
That’s immensely powerful.
Thanks for this, to my Muse/s. A certain series of interesting events inspired this story. So, Thanks Love.
