What is reality to me?

For some of us it could be the intense traffic we wade through in the morning. Queue after queue of metal, rubber and fumes. A giant sea of red and white lights framed by asphalt and concrete between your destination and you. The feeling of anguish grows as you feel you have wasted hour upon hour of your life incessantly alternating every few meters between the gas and the brake. Just when you feel you can take no more of this feeling of being trapped, you stop and think whether this is the reality you want to live.

Is our reality only what we see? There are people who try to adapt by making their journey more comfortable. Others try to avoid it altogether by working from home. Yet the feeling of being trapped continues to mark our existence. Is what you are seeing a reflection of how you feel inside? Do you feel your life is an uphill battle and that you are trapped between a rock and a hard place?

Maybe reality is a reflection of our existence. In other words, because we exist we are able to perceive our reality. Even if we could instantly transport ourselves from one place to another we would probably still think, feel and act like if we were in a reality that limits us. In this sense our human characteristics play a very important role. Our brains are capable of processing huge amounts of information generated internally and by our senses. Yet we choose to filter and judge what we perceive by adapting our individual mental constructs that define our reality.

For many of us reality has come to mean the universe of objects we agree are perceived to exist without our presence. In other words we could believe that intense traffic is an entity that exists on its own and generates anguish within us. I find this definition limiting because it does not take fully into account our perception of reality as humans, particularly in terms of concepts and ideas. For example, the concept of property exists in our collective minds and it can have as much meaning to us as any wall we consider as real.

The connection between our existence and our reality is a duality that is inherent in our human condition. I think that our abilities as humans allow us to observe, classify and create our realities. We are the ones who divide things with our mental models and creations, such as driving in lanes. The universe could be one giant information entity which exists without us, but that means nothing unless we are there to observe it. For example, it is improbable that another species would find meaning in a traffic light and stop when it is red unless it is trained to do so by us. On the other hand we wouldn't exist without the universe and it is important for us to understand that we are a part of something bigger.

It is my belief that philosophy takes on a lot of meaning when we study it from the human perspective. We as humans may cling to our individual realities but our search for the truth will prevail. There is always another way to see things. In situations that we consider difficult we can always apply an endless list of ideas and solutions. In this sense I hope that this blog will serve us as a means to share our ideas and help each other on our paths to discovering the mystery of life.