On Reality

Come to find out, there is no such thing as reality.

Okay, so maybe that's a bit of a bold statement. Surely some things are objectively fact. The sky is blue (most of the time), the grass is green, the cars travelling down the freeway at 75 miles an hour WILL cause serious damage if they run into anyone or anything.

But your reality may not be the same as someone else's. I heard this example once recently, courtesy of Tony Robbins:

Suppose you're meeting someone special for dinner at 6:30. You arrive at the restaurant at 6:30 and the other person isn't there yet. Fifteen minutes later and you're still alone. That's the objective reality. However, what that means to you is totally up to you. Do they not care? Are you being stood up? Was the other person in a car accident and is lying in a hospital somewhere? Is he or she simply inconsiderate? Maybe these feelings start to intensify as 7:00 and 7:15 rolls around. How are you feeling now? Frustrated? Concerned? Anxious? Worried? Mad? Lonely?

No two people will have the same interpretation of the same events. Some will feel one way, and some will feel another. Remember when I mentioned liking your sister (or not liking your sister)? It's not the situation, but it's your subjective interpretation of the situation that makes YOUR reality.

When I was serving as a missionary in Europe, I'd get frustrated when trying to debate the concept of absolute truth with people. I remember talking to a colleague of mine and he used the example of a box, that either has a ball in it, or it doesn't. Now, regardless of what one believes or doesn't believe, there's either a ball in the box or there isn't. That's just fact. However what that means to a person, and whether or not they even care if there's a ball in the box (or a God, or a Savior, or anything else we were trying to teach people), is completely subjective. I didn't get it then, and I got awfully frustrated with people. I get it now.

Hope this makes sense. Comments welcome.