Reality

Reality is a word so you decide how to use it.

For me, reality will always refer to what we cannot fully grasp as humans. It refers to a space we find our definitions in, not a space we define. This does not render our definitions useless, it just makes them 'not reality'.

We must understand that we create these definitions primarily for ourselves. It is in our attempt to make sense of that which we cannot fully grasp that we come up with definitions, diagrams, pictures and calculations. We are trying to make visible things which we suspect underlie our experience, that which we sense, see, hear, envision and dream. We try to connect dots, spin threads and build some kind of structure of meaning, which can hold us in such a way that our nervous system is calm. Or which we can hold onto, even if it cannot hold us. The problem arises when we try to convince ourselves that this meaning we have created, these stories we tell are how it is.

Can we get cosy in reality instead of getting cosy in our mental maps?

Maps are great, they can help us move. They can help us plot out a space, they can remind us of territory covered, of places explored, and they can be a draft to iterate on when finding our way. They can serve as a common understanding of our environment.

But the map is not the terrain.

Our maps can be wrong. Even if they are very accurate we can become so focussed on them that we stop being open to getting lost. Which means we stop being open to discovery. We rely on the maps, not our senses. We follow the way instead of trusting we will find a way.

We can stay in touch with our human urge to make sense of things and the awe of being part of something so big it isn't meant to be mapped out. Can we hold the tension between these two points? And if we can, what becomes possible in that space?