Reality: Truth or Perception
by If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?
Beyond our personal realities lies yet another reality that affects all of humanity: that of the physical world in which we live. It is based in fact, and has been shrouded in myth since the dawn of time. Today, we accept the statement that our Milky Way galaxy occupies a small corner in the outer most reaches of the universe as an axiom. We spin through the great expanse toward an ultimate destiny for all of humanity that we cannot possibly fathom; yet most of us spend our days completely unaware of that one reality that cannot be changed except by the complete and total annihilation of the planet.
So what is reality? In my opinion reality cannot be defined absolutely. According to Einstein all things are relative, and I agree. Each individual life is made up of experiences that are common to all creatures. In other words, every living creature must, by their very nature, encounter certain particulars. For example, we all must eat, sleep, breath and so forth, but beyond that, everyone’s experiences are unique unto themselves. By way of illustration lets say that two women were walking down a busy city street when they came upon a homeless man asking for change. One woman gives the man all the change she has, while the other turns away in disgust. Both of these women experienced the same circumstance, but reacted very differently because of their individual past experiences and framework of existence. Therefore, their reality was different based upon their own perception of the situation, and in turn each woman, by their reaction to the situation changed the reality of the beggar as well, thereby setting off a chain reaction that could possibly exponentially alter the personal realities of countless other people.
As I said, Kierkegaard believed that the ultimate reality was based in God, and I agree. We cannot possibly begin to understand the depth with which the universe was created, or why. Science can only take us so far. It can only answer so much, and then we are left to decide for ourselves. Which is what we will do in our minute corner of the universe. We will continue to search for the answers to the questions of life, for if we stop searching we will surely cease to exist: or will we?
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