What is this thing we call reality? And this is NOT a rhetorical question. No, really. I would like to know. I have been questioning this my whole life. Maybe more than one. One day you feel like you are starting to get it and the next?….. it’s gone, replaced with another question, another frustration, another confusion. A lot of people have put a lot of time, and a lot of effort, into this question. After centuries, what have we come up with? Nothing much. Nada. Zilch. I will not say whether these are great minds or not, but they are certainly well known, famous individuals. And they have finally decided to give us the best non-answer in the history of profound nonsense.

Now I like Bert. Smart guy. Endearing. Good sense of humour. His scope of interests is extremely varied and interesting. I find that he has had something to say on pretty much anything and everything. His viewpoints can be so insightful at times and at others irreverent and comical, and yet, many times, profound as well. He is a real thinking man, and it is difficult not to listen when he has something to say. Not anymore, of course, but he had a lot to say when he had the time. And then, when it comes to reality, he tells us that it is all an ‘ illusion ‘. But, how can something so ‘ real ‘ be just an illusion? I had higher expectations for Albert to help us with this one. Maybe he knew the answer and just didn’t want to let us in on the secret. In any case, it is tough enough to use this box of grey matter we carry around with us, like, all the time, without people telling us that ‘ real ‘ is not real.

OK. So this guy is verifiable. From what I can see, his reality actually WAS an illusion. He lived in a bizarre world. I do not really know that much about him, but you have to give someone credit who comes up with ideas like his and yet is able to still live within society. But it was a great book, and even the movie was good. Who else could have written Alice Through The Looking Glass? So at least he accepts that reality is real, but his view is that they are all different. Subjective. That works so much better than an illusion. Is there really a difference? End result is that it does not really exist, mine or yours. Nobody seems to be making very much progress with this ‘ reality ‘ thing.

So …. Here comes Nietzsche with his unique brand of philosophy and tries to negate any chance we could have to making some sense out of the issue. He has always come across as a dark and negative personality, and yet he has said some things that are hard not to agree with and others that, while maybe not being inspirational, demand a certain amount of deliberate thought. So now we are at the point that not only is there no reality, there are no facts, therefore no truth, no anything. So what is left? Who cares, my head just exploded!

So let’s take a closer look at reality. After an eternity of contemplation, the answer has become clear to me. Well, not clear. Let us just say a little less murky. Not revelation. It did not just sneak up on me or anything. Just slowly took form and realization became…….. Reality. I am going to go out on something of a limb here. I almost feel like a god. The answer is so simple that it makes me laugh. But this is no joke. The Cheshire Cat was on the right track. Reality is ……… whatever I say it is. My world. My life. My reality. As it turns out, they were all right, in their own way. Which doesn’t make me feel any less uncomfortable. In order to avoid an incapacitating bout of real insanity, you need to have structure in your mind, if not your life. There must be fact. There must be truth. There must be some semblance of reality. And if no one can come up with an answer, then it is in our best interests, even implicit in our very existence and survival, that we step up and take control of that reality. Make a decision. Get real, so to speak.