Hello friends …

 

I’m still not over these brainstorming sessions with myself yet, so here I am again with another senior moment … actually I would prefer to call this one … the “reality in a teacup” reflection for the day … as it came into my mind whilst I was staring into the bottom of a mug of green tea, with mint and honey, (should anyone wish to try it!!).

 

The questions that came to my mind ….. over and over again were …

 

What is reality? …. When is something really “real” and when is it not? … Is there such a thing as real? … Is there really a “reality” that can be defined as real? … and the answer I kept getting was  …. No … Reality does not exist … It is an abstract concept … which is relative ….just like time … because of the endurance and the space it occupies in the believer’s mind, at the time the believer believes it.

 

It is not fixed concept, because it depends on each individual’s own perception ….nor is it transferable, meaning that no one person can enforce his or her reality onto someone else.  Two perceptions of the same “believed” reality may be completely different… For example I may consider Mr X or Ms Y to be a beautiful human being and a great friend, for whatever qualities I see in them, … but when my good friend Mr or Mrs Z stands before these same people, they may consider Mr X and Ms Y to be the total opposites of my judgement, so our realities are very different, even though Mr X and Ms Y are considered to be real, for the very fact that they exist.

 

So … how can you define, for all intents and purposes, something that is an abstract concept, something that is relative and something that is dependant on each person’s own, individual, perception, which, in turn is defined by their social upbringing, their culture, their own set of values and their own prior experiences?

 

I am such a geek, in certain things, that I went to search for definitions of reality in various dictionaries and these are the results I found …

 

Various definitions of reality:

 

… The quality or state of being actual or true.

 

My question here is: “What is defined as actual? And what is defined as true?”  - Surely actual and true depend on our own perspectives, as mentioned above.  The truth is only “that” which we choose to believe in our minds… and each of us possess a unique mind.

 

… The totality of all things possessing actuality, existence, or essence.

 

My question here is: “What are all things that possess actuality, existence or essence”?… Essence is a non tangible abstract, like our soul and existence is a self-defined, shapeable variable determined by our environment and, alas, short lived …

 

 

… all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you

 

….the state of being actual or real; example - "the reality of his situation slowly dawned on him"

 

… the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be;

 

 

So, we’re back to my statement about individual perception …

 

So, reality, the way I see it …. is nothing more than what we construct in our hearts and minds and, therefore, choose to believe as “true to fact”.  In light of this, we may fool ourselves into believing a reality that isn’t really real …  some people may cling to a constructed reality for a long time to discover, one day, that it was all an illusion … and others may discover that other, ignored, realities are only real when they cease to be obtainable …

 

At this point, you’re probably thinking: “how did she get all this from looking into the bottom of a mug of tea at 2 am in the morning”?…. Answer: “No, I didn’t have anything better to do at the time and - Easy …The tea was made with tea leaves in a pot … it was filtered and put into a mug … The tea leaves were no longer visible to the naked eye but the taste and the colour were definitely tea-ish … so my thought was: “How can reality cease to exist just because we can’t see it”? … and, upon reflection, I kept thinking that if we deny its existence because we can’t see it … then was it ever reality in the first place?…

 

Human relationships, friendships and love are the same … A friend does not cease to exist just because they are not visible ... or present … you don’t stop loving someone just because you’re not near them, or because in your reality you can’t touch them, or look at them face to face … and human relationships, in a virtual environment,  should not be disrespectful just because you have never met the person on the other side of the forum post.

 

The reality that permeates throughout our “virtual reality” AdlandPro community, in the name of collaborations, friendships and even love may begin with “login” but it does not cease with “sign out” … it slowly creeps into our minds, our very being and spills out into our “daily” perception of reality…. So, it’s up to each of us to be responsible for choosing what kind of essence, of reality, to print in the minds of the people we call friends and what kind of construed reality we wish them to carry with them in their daily life … remember … just because you can’t see them … it doesn’t mean they are not real people…

 

 

 

What you say, is true. Making friends Adlandpro style with people, you will never meet. Is a phenomenon in it self. some you like some you don't.

Hi Venerina,

Well, let's see........now I find my mind diagnosing tea leaves!  It (that!) (what?) must be real!?  Ok  :-)

In stabbing this reality thing, how about we look at the ONE universal energy that flows through the universe.......LOVE!  That energy is felt through emotions of thoughts, intentions, or words whether in person or "virtually" clear across the globe.  Whatever we feel or perceive is real to us....it is our reality.  But someone else might experience their reality in another way from ours.

I am inclined to believe that a person is who they are whether it be in physical form or in virtual form.  If they are disrespectful in real life, they will likely be the same in virtual form, and visa versa. 

Unless we make the Golden (Apple) Rule mandatory for the entire world's populice (ho ho ho), life is always going to be full of emotional challenges.

Since we create our reality, we sometimes allow ourselves to get hurt.  But we also gain wisdom from life's lessons.  We should be thankful for those lessons?  That is a matter of perception again.

Hey buddy.......I am stabbing, but there are no definitive answers here.  So, with that said, I am going to send you some giant "Virtual Reality" HUGS! 

You are the best, and we love you!

Bless you,  Jill

Hello there young Venerina

Every time I turn my back,  and then switch on the computer, I find you have written another jewel. If I live to be 100 years old , you will never cease to amaze me with your coherence, when you write it all down.

I love what you have written, but here is the part that I like best

"… remember … just because you can’t see them … it doesn’t mean they are not real people…"

because that's what we are - real people.

Love you
Jenny