What is real? How do you define ‘real’? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.
This is part of the conversation that Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus) had with Keanu Reeves (Neo) in the 1999 movie called “The Matrix”. The reason why I love this quote is that it made me re-think a lot of ways in which I perceive reality. I don’t mean that in a way that I believe we live in a digitally conceived reality that imprisoned our consciousness. I believe we can influence our own mind in certain ways.
Different Perspective
I have spent countless hours trying to find meaning of every day life and how I can improve my understanding of it. The availability of information nowadays is possibly endless and with that, it’s prone to misinterpretation. I didn’t always believe everything I read or watched, but I did my best to pick the common sense solutions. Do you think common sense is always present and applicable? Of course not. Life would have been too easy if that was the case.
Complications of every day living can be minor, like losing your pen at work. They can be major as losing your wallet and car keys. I’m glad I never had to experience those two scenarios (never say never). I always took extra precautions to avoid them. Every now and then I catch myself feeling that I might suffer from OCD. While walking somewhere, I tend to tap on the pockets, unnoticeably, which contain sensitive items (car keys, money, cards etc.). Is that classified as OCD?
Being overly cautious sometimes makes me think that I take things way too seriously. Life may not be as cruel as that. Do I like to take chances on it? Absolutely not!
Since the late nineties, and my discovery of Murphy’s Law, I made myself look at things from a different perspective.
Happier Life
The reality became more fun and open for multiple interpretations, depending on the situation, and the occasional mishap. Have you ever dropped something on the floor and it managed to roll into a hard to reach spot? Did you get frustrated trying to hit the trashcan with a crumpled paper, but instead of hitting it right, it bounced off the edge and onto the side of it? “Uncle” Murphy was laughing from wherever he was at.
This didn’t mean that I took things for granted, but it loosened up the seriousness that I’ve been building up inside me for years. It helped me “define” reality in a more meaningful way. The way I perceived things and how did they influence me was greatly assisted by knowledge seeking I never stopped doing. I learned to control my feelings and emotions, my ego and anger that caused me to be overly anxious and to keep the balance of mind overall.
Nowadays, I still like to sit in silence and work on eliminating the negative thoughts, plucking them out like overgrown weed in the garden. It helps me maintain the composure of senses, which ultimately resulted in happier life. It’s a great way of caring for yourself without being selfish. Besides, who are you without your sense of self? How do you perceive reality?
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This Post Has 61 Comments
Such a thought provoking post! It really made me think. thank you so much for sharing – Kimberley
It is indeed. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Our reality is how we create it. So, let’s create a good one!
Absolutely! We can and we should.
I try not to live by too many rules, but anyone who quotes Yoda or Morpheus can’t be all bad. I’m pretty sure about that one – or is it two? Good stuff man – and since I’m subscribed I guess I’ll be hearing more. 🙂
Thank you for enjoying my writing. I will be sharing more experiences.
Removing negative thoughts like weeds from a garden, a perfect analogy for a real problem.
Real is a subjective aspect of life. The reality of one rarely matches others. So… who can define when one’s reality is just an illusion?
Hey, Crisly! Thank you for jumping in the deep end, so to speak, by addressing the big questions of meaning and purpose in this life! I think they are good questions and should be asked, even if they do bring some confusion or surface more questions. As you probably know from my blog, I’ve found a meaningful framework for life through Christian spirituality. So I see things through this lens (on good days, at least…) ???? For example, I believe that we’ve got a Creator who is Goodness itself and Who will heal this world in the long-term. So this give me hope for the here and now! Keep searching…and writing!
Reality is what we make of it , I suppose. Great reading your thoughts!
Really awesome post. Everyone sees EVERYTHING different! Shapes, colors –
on and on. I am finding this true in my life for sure. Everything is what you make of it and it alters reality.
It sure is. I am constantly observing how life changes in front of my eyes, just by adjusting the way I look at it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
One thing I always ask myself is “what if…?”
What if I am late? What if I lose my car keys? What if I don’t get that job. Almost always, the answer is really not worth worrying about, don’t you think?
I believe so. It took me a while to get to that point and now, I’m enjoying it. Thank you for the thoughtful words.
I really enjoyed yout post while reading. It is everyone’s perception that how we take the things as real or fake. Its only depends on us that how we take life is to be. So alwayz try to catch the good or real things and throw out the bad or fake things to make the life better and happier
I will, thank you for great recommendations.
I think we all have those “what is it all about” moments. The trick is not to be so overwhelmed by it.
I like the imagery of weeding out the mental garden. Thanks for the thought-provoking post!
This is a pretty deep post that makes you think about things in a different way. Quite interesting.
You are so on point. I have been writing about exactly the same thing. We live our bubble of reality which I like to call our “Hamster Ball” and we tend to think that that’s the only truth that exists. Once you realize that there are perspectives beyond your version of reality, you learn, grow and experience much more! Thanks for this great read.
Reality is in your own mindset. When you stop allowing the noise of the outside world to Cloud your perception of things. Your reality will be so much more peaceful. Love your post! It really makes you think.
There is huge difference between belongings and humans. You can double check your belongings and make it less likely to loose them but you have to set some one free at his /her will and stop worrying, the only way to minimise the chances of losing.Real prospective of life is that its meant to be lost so no point in living it in the fear of losing things, people or life itself. Its not going to change any thing which is meant to be lost it only changes your state of happiness which is meant to be retained day in and day out.
Nice! I wrote about the same thing last week. We all view the journey differently 🙂
Check the brain in a vat theory.
Take care.
Thanks for such a great post!
It’s indeed food for thought.
Great post. Do you have a “like” button that I missed?
Thank you. You didn’t miss the like button. It wasn’t there, but it is now 🙂 Appreciate for noticing it.
Great post. I believe that the meaning of life is whatever we choose to give it meaning. The foundation is your sense of self and what you believe as the greater power in your life. I believe in God, so it shapes my values (and reality) on what I will (and will not do) as I travel in this journey we call life. Does God exist? Is heaven real? I choose to believe Yes. I will find out on my own when the time comes. Even if it doesn’t, I still live my life with great expectancy. I couldn’t ask for more.
This is a post that makes me think….and i like that. Great post!
Thanks Angela, I’m happy to hear that you liked it.
I try to follow the Pollyanna game, where you look for the good in everything
We can always find goodness, if we only look far enough. Thanks for reading.
Such a great blog post, and def something to live by! I have always said it’s always good to realize what is toxic in our lives and take it out!
Thanks Brii! I’m thrilled to know that you found this article to be great. Nice to hear that you are eliminating toxicity out of your life.
I have such a hard time coping with what is reality to me, and sometimes it just helps to read things like this! Thank you!!
Thank you Stephy! Nice to know that you enjoyed reading this article.
Lovely post.. I really get attached to the post as psychology is my favorite zoner to write.
Loved it. Thanks for sharing
Excellent! Thank you for the kind words Jyoti. I appreciate the time you took to read the article.
Your most welcome.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with being overly cautious. Personally, I think it is a way through which we protect our helpless selves. I happy you found a balance. Weldone
Reality is both subjective and objective…… Our reality is different from the other…what may be true to you is not for me… This knowledge allows me to respect each others reality or truth…..
I just discussed this with someone recently. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in ourselves that we forget that the way we perceive things, isn’t the way others around us perceive things.
We discussed how his brother is a drug addict but he is a sober family man. His brother thought his parents were to strict, while he thought they were very caring. His brothers perception led him to rebel. While his perspeception of reality led him to mirror his parents. It’s very interesting!
This is a really great post. Our perception of reality really is in our minds and we can change it for the better.
I too stopped taking life so seriously, and have learned to have fun and enjoy it, it is short after all!
You have such a writer’s brain. How do you come with such unique writing and topics. I love your post. Such a great read.
Perception is powerful. It can change our mindset and thus can change the reality. When I see clash of beliefs or things not happening my way than I reevaluate and change my perception so that I see the positive that I take from each event of life.
This is so deep! I wonder where you get your blog post ideas; they are usually very unique. For me, I think we can manifest anything we want into our reality by meditation and visualization. So, real could be anything you can see, touch, feel, hear, taste and smell at any given moment.
After reading this post only quote comes to my mind by Albert Einstein, “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.”
Thought provoking. Most of us try to escape the realm of reality because of pain. I have deep admiration for people who can face the sad reality of life.
I read the Energy Bus and it helped change my whole perspective and how I looked at “negative” situations in my life. I too like you sit and try to remove negative thoughts from my mind and spirit. Congrats on your journey!
Reality is a thing what you done. focus and keep your life enjoy because time is too short for everything.
I do the plucking out negative thoughts thing too! It is so satisfying!
This was an interesting read, and it kind of lifts your spirits! Very, very well written.
Whenever negative thoughts creep in, reality follows and not pleasant. So when it hit me, I count my blessings and focus on it and then all comes back to normal. Never entertain negativity, that is. Love this article. Keep it up!
I try and make a list of the things i am grateful for whenever i feel negative or upset about not getting something..it makes a huge difference.
Wow this is very inspiring and I love your writing style. I admire how you perceive things and control your emotions and feelings, it’s very hard to do especially these days. I think I need to practice this on a daily basis.
There are always different sides to a story, unfortunately a lot of people tend to rely more on the misinformation rather than finding the truth out. I may not be a master in life but I always make it a point to always look at things in different perspectives.
When I was little, I use to always think that shows on TV show the perception of “happiness” but now that I’m older, I realise that that isn’t reality. Great post.
wonderful post! I felt the same thing recently as I felt like everyone around is covered in a wave of negativity. I know their reality is different as I had a different view on life.
I enjoyed reading the post. It’s interesting to think that everyone’s reality is what they perceive which means reality has many versions.
It’s so nice that changing your perspective allowed you a more relaxed, less tense approach to life!