The reality that we navigate daily appears to be, well, real. On the surface, wouldn’t you say that we can count on it? It’s here to last, right? We certainly can’t mistake what’s fake for reality. Oh really? Man certainly does mistake “what is fake or made up” for what is real. It’s hard to miss this one as it is a daily occurance, but that’s for another post. As far as “counting on reality” or reality is “here to last”, I’m just not sure of that either. Suffice it to say, humans shape reality like it or not. I think Plato hit it on the nose when he said, “The reality is created by the mind.
My leaning on the subject is that “… Nothing lasts forever but the Earth and Sky… “ as the rock band, Kansas, wrote and sang in their hit, Dust in the Wind. Great song. So that’s the way I lean. Unless it is the Earth or the sky, I’m not so sure we can count on it or that it’s here to last. After all, very few physical and nonphysical realities that man has originated have truly lasted. Humans are pretty good at making new tools over time and those in power create social constructs–some last for a while.
Photo by Michelle LeBlanc
Created by the mind
Reality, both in physical and nonphysical reality (like social constructs), is the product of the minds of humans over the millions of years. Other than what comes from the natural world, everything else started as an idea in someone’s head—good or bad. It’s all fantasy until we take an idea and build it.
Cell phones don’t grow in the wild.
Just an aside…man has been an expert on how to create a war, but not so good at creating a reality that eliminates them. Perhaps we are still lacking in some areas. This is a little heavy for this post, but it is a clear example that man creates his own reality–for himself and everyone under his control.
My family and I like to go to the mountains and escape from the craziness of life. On a recent trip I remember sitting on the cabin’s porch in an old rocking chair. I was looking out to the mountains, the stream and a setting sun. A thought popped into my head. I thought that everything that was in front of me was truly real and untainted. As that thought became louder in my head so did another. Where I sat and all behind me (the cabin and everything in it) was only “real” because man had a thought and did something about it. For example, he might have said, “I want to sit on something other than the ground.” From that, came the first chair. It suddenly became real – it is now part of reality. Fast forward to cell phones–same thing.
I still think that the sky, the mountains, and the stream are my reality of choice but I assume they don’t measure up for some folks. It’s what I value. The stuff we own, not so much.
Taking a stake in what’s created by the mind
The communities we live in didn’t just happen. Someone or some group thought about what they wanted to do, and they built it—urban, suburban, and rural. This all seems very obvious. I remind myself it’s fine for others’ reality to enter our life as that is how it is and our hope is that others’ intentions are good. But we should have a stake in our reality. In other words, we don’t have to be penned in by others’ reality everytime we turn around.
One way to give us some control of our reality is as easy and as enjoyable as reading and writing. Both of these are solitary activities. So take control of what is real for you, and one way to do this is when we read or write.
What?
When we read fiction—any kind of fiction—it transports us. We to to another land—could be London in the 1880s, the Congo in the 1940s, a million light years in some other time or in a different parallel world to right now.
Wherever it takes us, it is for sure, taking us away into a reality of our choosing.
If we allow ourselves, we are immersed into the author’s version of those places, times and situations. But best of all, through their eyes we now live in this fictional space. We become part of the fabric of the tale. We are given freedom to interpret what we read. It is us who give the words shapes, color, sounds, smells, taste, and know how it feels in our hands or beneath our feet. What a gift the author has given us.
Our self expression is created by the mind
I encourage people to not only read but to write—or to express themselves in the manner that best suits them. There are many wonderful options for expression. Dance, painting, sketching, photography, digital art, and the list goes on.
When we express ourselves, we become the master of our own reality as we are in control and we’re calling the shots.
When Plato said, “The reality is created by the mind”, I think he meant that the world is best lived when we seek its meaning. We have the capacity to shape what’s in front of us—not just to passively let it go by. It’s less about making a chair or a cell phone but it’s about using our imagination to help us understand what is happening around us, and to find the meaning in our own lives.
There’s something about knowing that nothing lasts forever except the earth and sky. I say let’s try to understand where we live and those who live here. That reality speaks to me.
About E.G. Kardos
I am a fiction writer and the author of five books. My writing draws inspiration from the beauty surrounding us all—both in nature and in each other. Spirituality, friendship, love, and our connection to the universe inspire me to write. Here’s more about me and my books.
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