Moods: “That Old Feeling”, Seth MacFarlane; “This Is It”, Kenny logins
Illusions
Been dealing with some deep thoughts of late. They come back to me on a regular basis, sometimes because Mother Nature makes it clear, sometimes because that sonuvabitch Human Nature makes it clear, sometimes because it is almost all of what the internet is.
A lot of our lives is an Illusion.
Oh, it is real, sure enough, sometimes too real!
(Let me preface by noting that this part is going to be perhaps a bit depressing and dark. The following section will be a balance to it, so if you are good with this, read on!)
No, I am not positing that The Matrix movies are Reality, nor anything approaching that.
As I write this, I sit comfortably at my desk in The Bradicombs; it is raining outside, coming down hard. The window is open so I can listen to the thunder, if any is forthcoming, and enjoy the cool breeze. A nice, hot cup of coffee is just off to my right. The house is on land that we have ‘purchased’, although the bank ‘owns’ it mostly.
If there should be a tornado, or fire, or any number of other things, it is all gone, *poof!* If there should be an earthquake (something I lived with for decades in Alaska) even the ground the house is on might be gone or greatly changed in many ways. When the power goes out, or the water goes down, or the heating/cooling goes out, that illusion of comfort and safety evaporates quickly.
For those of us who have a conscience, laws are, generally, what we live by, and for good reasons as we a re Rational Beings (I hope!); more on this later. However, laws are an illusion; you don’t have to follow them, you can do whatever the hell you want, really. You may get caught and then what we term Justice may be harsh for you, depending on the severity of the the law(s) you choose to violate. ‘Gun Free Zones’, for instance, have been proven to be ineffective for any individual sick enough to disregard them for evil purposes. Illusion.
Illusion Is Reality
There is a sort of a melding of these illusions, however. Having the house and comforts that this age can provide is certainly Real and a present Reality. Even as they can be gone in a blink of God’s eye, they are Real. All of the possessions I still have in Alaska are there, but not having them for the last few years makes them illusory, even as they exist. All of those things that give us pleasure on Disney+ or YouTube or Suicide Girls are real, but at the same time time phantoms of Reality. As well, I am certain most of the women who post their sets here are real, but not only are any possibilities of spending real time with any of them illusory, I am just as certain that some are simulacra. And that is all fine, because that is Reality, you dig?
Reality
The Truth is that we are, in fact, or at least can be, Rational Beings. Not only is this proven in writings, ancient and contemporary, but in the evolution of laws and Humanity and invention and so on. That Rationality, though illusionary thought to begin with, becomes something more, something solid at times, with the actions of Rational Beings moving forward with an eye to making ‘things’ better.
Today, we are even dealing with ‘my reality’ a lot, even when it is illusory. This is also fine, as long as we can use that Rationality to understand that, for instance, I do not need to accept your ‘reality’ for the truth, without rancor or divisiveness, and should expect the same for ‘you’ respecting ‘my reality’ with the same considerations. No one should be forced into another’s reality, as long as established and hopefully rational laws are not broken. To be clear, I have no problem with how others identify, and I hope they have no problem with how I do.
So, finally, every day is Real, lived in Reality. However, much of what consists of daily life (safety, permanency, etc.) has a sheen of illusion about it. As long as we remain Rational, respectful and understanding of how fleeting some of these things can be, we will do alright, at least mentally. I hope.
Semi-Final Thoughts
Every day, I try to make sense of Life. For the most part, I believe I succeed. The most sense I derive is from my immediate environment. By this, I mean those things, places, events and actions in my immediate circle of friends, work, and such things I deal with myself every day. I cannot effect what goes on in government, as incompetent as it has continually proven itself to be, Federally or not, and so I do what I can when I can locally. Maybe a bit here, too, with my posts? That is not for me to say.
The point is that the Reality of our Illusions and the boundaries thereof are up to us and us alone. Does it make a difference if no one else shares our Illusion? I find this hard to believe with as many billions of people on the planet, but my personal opinion is that it does not. Unless that is the point of you Illusion is that others believe it, in which case that is your ‘problem’. I know we tend to over share on various social media these days, but that should not be an impetus to an Illusion, if that makes sense, and again this is my personal opinion. As is everything I post in my own blog, my own Illusion, if you will. Hopefully that isn’t too hard to grasp! 😁
At any rate, I find I am rambling, and my Realty is quickly heading towards a mug of ale!
I hope this finds whoever made it this far doing well, enjoying the melding of Reality and Illusion and having a damn fine time doing so! I bid you Peace!
