To describe reality could be considered an exhausting and strained endeavor. Though, it is a necessary effort to come to terms with or at the least, to give an ounce of thought as to what it is. I base this upon two salient reasons. One, which is self-evident, is simply because you and I live. Reality is a lived experience. It is infallible in the sense that reality cannot be proven right or wrong. It just is. It cannot in any extent, small or large, be altered or changed to fit one’s own subjective understanding of reality. Therefore, the greatest adjustment one can make is a realignment of one’s reasoning in accordance to reality. This results in a harmonious and good life.
This then brings me to my second point, being that it has, by common society, been enveloped into a notion that reality is malleable and conforming. This is commonly understood and encouraged by statements such as “your reality is different from mine” or “my truth is different from yours.” These statements are further obfuscated by another layer of affirmation that because your reality is your own, it is therefore special, unique and right in its own way.
The use of the words reality and truth have been subjugated to the most wrongful ideas and have been conflated to be that of one’s opinion. It is an error to presume that reality differs from person to person. Lately, it has even become offensive to merely observe and make a statement about reality. To say that “I am a man, and you are a woman” would be considered an attack upon another’s identity, when really, it is an observed statement of who one is. It is a truth derived from common sense observation.
For me to make a contrary proposition would be as if I ran into a wall and having been offended by its presence, decided that it would be in my best interest to convince myself that the wall does not exist. No physical change has taken place despite my capacity and strength for imagination. Reality is likewise that obstinate and concrete wall which exists whether we like it or not. We can understand it to be physical (as much as it can be understood to be metaphysical). To pinch my arm or bring it close to a fire would induce a painful sensation which is an external observation my body makes in respect to a painful stimulus outside of my mind. Furthermore, I cannot be in two places at once. I cannot be sitting in my living room and be standing in my kitchen at the same time.
Reality then is not an opinion nor an idea. Rather it is the underlying nature by which we all exist. Not even our life circumstances, no matter how arduous or facile, can have even the tiniest impression upon reality. Sadly, the poor outnumber the rich; the unjust are rewarded while the just suffer. There are no emotions or thoughts that could alter the reality of a fallen world.
How then should we come to accept reality? We should not fight against it or reinterpret it. Our own perceptions of reality can and oftentimes are flawed. Thus, we must challenge ourselves in the validity and epistemology of what we know and how we think. We have a moral obligation to think and to think well. Instead of challenging reality, we ought to question our presuppositions on life. While this may be the most uncomfortable and unenjoyable experience; it will ultimately lead to a reestablishment of the fundamental building blocks of knowledge—through a study of history, literature, and dialogue—putting oneself in the best position to lead a good life unrestrained by reality.