The reality of our life stands in stark contrast to the imagined.
We can imagine whatever we like. But, life intrudes. And, by life--I mean the unavoidably real events we cannot wish away.
Each of us is capable of avoiding unpleasant thoughts. It is as simple as as not looking, not hearing and refusing to ponder what displeases us.
This is comparable to taking a nap while driving, however! Reality will soon impact the front bumper of your vehicle and pop your dream bubble in a most disastrous manner!
What am I saying?
We must actually choose to focus the power of our mind on what is real to avoid the false escape of daydreaming, avoidance and idealism--or, we suffer the results.
Consciousness is no guarantee of alertness. We can be conscious in a school classroom and completely miss the lesson for the day while drifting along lost in our own reveries.
Life is what happens while you are making other plans. Ever hear that before? That is what I'm talking about.
Our world view, our belief system, our sense of how the world works can only come to us in two distinct ways:
1.We are alert. We focus our senses. We ask questions and demand provable answers. We test things. We remain skeptical. We refuse to choose hearsay over testable facts.
or
2.We refuse to investigate beyond our comfort zone. We only read what reinforces our prejudices and opinions. We don't list to counter argument; only prepare our rebuttal. We accept our peer group's opinions. We operate on ideology. We go along to get along. We buy in to feel-good opinion. We embrace the supernatural. We tickle our ears with New Age mysticism. We readily gravitate toward the mysterious and the unexplainable and cozy up to the unprovable and titillating side of things.
In short: our responsibility for our own life can go into default easily. All we have to do is turn off our investigative powers. All we must do is relax our skeptical analysis and go with the flow of popular opinion.
I work in a book store. I daily observe what people read. I survey popular tastes in reading material when the customer pays their hard-earned dollars at the cash register.
The tons of cheap romance novels being read (like eating bags of potato chips) is amazing. It isn't the category of "Romance" which is alarming. It is the fecklessness of the writing and the poverty of the stories which is troubling.
New Age, Self-help, Meditation, quack diet, Natural Cures books are sold by the truckload. Who reads these books? Not low-life and uneducated people! No, everyday well-educated people cram their brains with these out-of-the-author's-ass foolishness. Why? Lazy brains?
No, I think it is the utter lack of skeptical thinking. The lure of ideas off the beaten path which are dressed up in fluffy language and intangible window-dressing are saltier, sugary and more chocolaty to the taste than dry, fact-based books with real research and tested methodologies.
We are fast becoming a society of well-educated nincompoops who praise Jesus, consult a horoscope, eat bacon to lose weight, shun doctors in favor of quack cures, elect politicians with yummy promises and little substance and, who don't really know the difference between real and unreal.
Not only is this dangerous; it is avoidable.
The rampant opinionating of Conspiracy Theory idiots and political ideologues wafts like a fart in an elevator across the radio talk-show airwaves. People parrot what their know-it-all guru rants about with little investigative penchant for testing the validity of elusive claims.
What is the solution?
Skepticism.
Try it---it might save your life.
Try reading opinions with which you do not agree.
Trying listening to the other side.
Actively address the particulars and avoid the generalities.
Anything can be true if it is offered as a generality. You can only test the truth specifically.
If you disagree with this opinion, I'm happy to hear you out.