Ahmad Al Charif

What is real? And what is fiction?

In other words, How do you define reality? Is reality simply the listing of facts, coming together to form this reality of yours, and if so, what facts exactly do you look for, to define this reality?

It’s very tricky, when you think about it. Defining one’s reality. Because if two people try to define the same reality of a third, most probably all three of them will each pick different facts and factors. Thus the end result would be three, solid realities, based upon facts. But can all three realities co-exist in harmony? More importantly, can they all be real?

What is a fact, to begin with? Is it not your own rational mind examining a theory, and then accrediting it, transforming it into a fact? And if so, is your own judgment not susceptible to error, in other words, is it not likely that you will make mistakes? Let us take an example, Lara’s facts are:

1-      My manager appreciates my hard work tremendously
2-      My husband doesn’t mind me working late hours a few nights a week
3-      My kids adore me

But are the above really facts? Or assumptions? Her manager could very well be stringing her along, encouraging her to work hard for a promotion that will never come. Her husband might be patient about her late hours at first, only because he thinks it’s a temporary thing. And her kids, might feel distant from her because she is never there.

In this case, Lara is an actual person that I know, who now goes to couple’s therapy to try and salvage her marriage, who has quit her job after realizing it was going nowhere… But her kids do actually adore her, despite her odd hours.
What makes a fact, worthy of being this solid brick, in your envisioned reality? Are you really focusing on the right things? Do you have a critical eye, or are you simply choosing to see only what you want to see? When listing your facts choose carefully, and consciously. Because upon careful inspection, you might find out that your selection has been flipping your world upside down…