The tension of hope and reality

We get to choose what it is we want to focus on. Which story to tell about ourselves and the world around us. One full of abundance, possibility, growth, and choices or one that is scarce, fixed, and limited. In the end, we get what we hope for. Each of us is in search of meaning in our lives. We can’t fill it with materials. No matter how hard we try it won’t fill our cups. Sure, we can distract ourselves but in the depths of our hearts, we know better. No one wants to feel like a rat on the wheel that is constantly spinning or someone who just keeps pulling the lever at a slot machine. Perhaps, the only antidote to consumption, the cancer in our culture today, is creation. Either way, the only meaning we can derive is the one we choose. If you are optimistic in this approach, you will more likely find what it is in your search than the pessimistic person. We hide from this by saying, “I am just trying to be real.” But reality is but a perception. The world comes at us through wavelengths, the eyes then translate that image to our brain for us to see. In fact, we perceive the world after it has already happened. What is reality then anyway? We don’t even know where we are. A spec of dust in an infinite galaxy. Being real is a moment of real clarity that we only experience in special moments. Most of the time, we are insulating ourselves from reality. And that’s okay. Because reality bites. The path forward, however, is dealing with the tension of seeing things as they are while having hope for things to get better.