What is ‘reality’? At a macro level, Google defines reality as “the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.” But there is more to it. The truth about reality is that it is more dynamic than we think it is. The reality today is completely unrelated to the reality a hundred thousand years back. From an age of stone weapons, we have shifted to an age of modern nuclear weapons. Or to put in another manner, from an age of stone-age tools, we have shifted to an era of modern miracles and inventions. Whatever the impact may be, it is evident that reality is an ever-changing concept. Today’s reality, in myriad aspects, is distinct from the reality of past centuries in terms of both constructive and destructive changes.
Take warfare for instance. The shift from handmade weapons to 21st-century modern warfare is a tragedy. Such equipment has taken uncountable innocent lives in the name of defence, counter attack or even baseless claims on some occasions. Take all the other banes of this century. Social media, an invention to bring people from distant places together, has created distance between people sitting right next to each other. Conversely, in the yesteryears, family time and community binding were the essences of life. All these changes have made today’s world a devoid of numerous ethical mindsets and activities that were integrated into the world of early humans.
But as they say, change is a double-edged sword. Today’s world is also a modern man’s dream. With all its shortcomings, it does manage to offer a life of convenience and comfort to some. After all, early humans did not have fancy Snapchat filters to while away time on a lazy Sunday.
However, the most important change is the evolution of human behaviour. Today’s reality, in its truest sense, is not defined by technology or warfare. It is defined by us. It is defined by how we were and how we are. These changes do not refer to the invention of virtual reality or bionics. They are the changes inside us. They refer to our very human nature that has changed with every century, decade, year, month and even day.
In the early human civilisation, social bonds helped ensure humans’ survival. Some groups of early humans began collecting tools and food from a variety of places and bringing them to favoured resting and eating spots. Sharing vital resources with other members of the group led to stronger social bonds and enhanced the group’s chances of survival. Today, sharing is a far fetched idea, even looking out for one another is a rare trait. To be real and to accept reality are one of the rarest traits that today’s man can portray. To say that one is real sounds way easier than it actually is, and every typical High School scenario is a testimony of this. But whom do we blame? The crowd followers who do anything to make their spot in the social hierarchy or the judgmental souls that don’t spare anyone? The former, this time. In the process of becoming someone else, we lose the person we always have been. Just to fit into an imperfect world, you do not alter yourself rather, you alter your world.
Be with the people who accept the real, not the pretentious, you. Choose your moves. Choose the people who form your world. Choose the real you.
Bring back the reality that becomes our power and not our pain.
-by Snehal Jindal
1 Like