Distinguishing Reality

My reality is based upon tangibility. Though my mind may try to convince me otherwise, I always return to the physical. The present moment is defined by my existence within it; the feeling of the cool earth under my toes, the smell of garlic on my fingertips after I cook a tasty meal, the sound of my windchime in the breeze. 

Thanks to the advance of information technology, the boundaries that constitute reality have widened and we have begun to accumulate information and ideas. Our careers, relationships, and identity are often based upon concepts that are not tangible to us. When we meet another, we give them an idea of who we are based upon a collection of facts about ourselves; where we’re from, what we studied, what our job is, who our parents are. We further build on this identity through experiences; the places you go, the friends you keep, the music you listen to, the clothes you wear, the drugs you take. 

This forms a false reality, a lens through which we exist. Conflict arises when something threatens these ideas. When I spend too long looking at a screen my eyes sting and blur as they adjust to the forms around me. If I read the news too often I forget that I am safe. Social media tricks me into believing my life is not good enough. Celebrities trick me into thinking beauty is a commodity to be bought, rather than an innate quality found in every human being. 

The reality that we inhabit as a result of thought only exists for humans. Plants and animals, as far as we know, simply coexist in the physical realm. They have existed and evolved in harmony for billions of years before humans began to prioritise their idea of reality. We all know how that’s going.

We must become aware of the discrepancies between the reality in our heads and the one that is happening right now in this current moment. In order to begin shifting our reality, we must immediately become present.

Bring your attention to the tangibility of the present moment that you are existing in. Where you are sitting right now, touch something close by. Maybe it's a smooth rock or the bus seat next to you. Feel it in your fingers. Savour the texture. That’s real and it is absolute.

Can you make the distinction between your thoughts and reality?