Ramblings on Reality and Dreams

I don't know why I chose to write on this fickle subject. Nothing that is written here is likely to spark any dormant neurons in your brain. Still, it is a subject I haven't voiced my opinions about yet, so its dissection was inevitable.

The first meaning of reality is something that is actual. That is to say something that exists, that can be defined as real and actual, is a part of reality. That definition is so boring, though. What about those concepts where (and I'm sure you heard this a thousand times) each individual person holds their own reality about the world? What is this reality, and how do you define it without simply saying it is subjective? What about people's dreams within this world, within their reality? These questions and more have been asked for thousands of years, and I am merely reciprocating them in order to continue the tradition.

First, ask yourself what the world is. Besides a large terrestrial mass known as Earth - the world is also a collection of realities that people share. For the types of realities I speak of - the ones that exist within people - we can say that there is not one singular form of reality. Adhering and giving in to something because it is the way it is supposed to be done in reality is a sign of the feeble-minded. The greatest people in the history of our planet did not adhere to what was considered "reality", but challenged it with their own, and some even won. This is because they had dreams - or wishful realities - which they wanted to fulfill.

Facts and truths are nothing more than the common sharing of a reality between two or more people. If you teach a child from birth that two plus two equals five, then that will exist as a part of their reality - whether or not it is true is irrelevant. Something does not need to be true in order to exist to someone as reality. Serial killers sometimes receive enjoyment from killing people of specific specifications. While certainly twisted and demented, if it exists within their mind that what they are doing is enjoyable - then it is a reality for them. Obviously the most commonly held truth about killing others is that it is a bad thing, so these people are viewed in the utmost negative light.

People give themselves significance through their dreams and their own personal reality. They find something to engage themselves in and repeatedly do it. I write because it gives me a sense of purpose and significance. Whether or not anyone reads it, whether or not it's good, whether or not it makes me money, is irrelevant. It exists as a dream within my mind which gives me self permanence, and also stabilizes the reality within me. Obviously finding a dream or passion and pursuing it is one of the most commonly held goals among all humans of the world. However, those who change reality, those who shape it, and mold it, are the ones who end up affecting the world the most. Martin Luther King, Jr. took one reality - where blacks and whites could not live together - and helped (he was not the only one who took part in this effort) to mold it in to a new reality - where blacks and whites lived and loved together. This is but one example of changing the realities that people share about the world, in order to make it a better place.

Imagine that one million people are sick with disease in a city. You are but one of these people. One day after long hard work you discover the secret to curing the disease. You tell your best friend the cure, he tells two people, those two people tell two people, and so on. Now replace disease with something you wish to change about the world, and the cure with self enlightenment. Now make it a goal to shape the realities of all of those around you - all of the people connected and interconnected - to such an extent that they too may see and be enlightened. Is it easy? Of course not. Will you do such a thing and bring about a great change in the world? If you expected to see the answer "No" right here, then you won't. But for those of you who truly believe in yourselves, those of you who call impossible a challenge, I urge you to move forth with your head high and allow nothing to stop you. The path of righteousness will illuminate only when you truly believe in your reality.