We tend to look at the universe through the limitations of our own perception, language, culture and experience. We call something “real” because we can observe it, measure it or understand it within the framework we have created.
But reality itself does not need our permission to exist.
Gravity did not begin to exist when Newton described it. The stars did not become real when we discovered them. And the universe does not have to conform to the way the human mind would like it to behave.
This leads to a question I find much more interesting than simply asking what we believe to be true:
Is truth something we discover about reality — or something we construct from the limits of our own perception?
I’ve been exploring this idea through philosophy, physics and the nature of reality, and it has become a major theme in my writing.
I’d be genuinely interested to hear what other people think.
Can we ever see reality as it actually is, rather than merely seeing the version of it that our minds allow us to see?
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AnonymousInactive
Hello, BFFs! I am counting the days until we can fix up our house in California and sell it, then move to Ennis. The current plan is April 2025. Tick tock tick tock.
I grew up in South Africa, lived in Dublin for a few years in the 1980s, and have spent the last several years in California. Now our kids are grown and it’s time for Pat and me to go exploring on our own, and what better spot than Co. Clare, amirite?
There are a lot of people reaching out here on BFF. I’m curious how well that’s working. I’m fairly introverted so it’s always been hard for me to “just make friends”, and I find it super awkward to reach out to a stranger and say “hey I’ll be your friend” because you never know what you’re getting into. 😬 When we were young, our school classmates provided a good pool of potential friends. At work, we’re exposed to people who might turn into friends. (Unless you worked where I used to work 🙄) And when you’re in a new place and don’t know anyone, it’s really, really hard.
But research shows that one way to start friendships is to keep showing up.
One of the first things I’m going to do when we hit the ground in Ireland is sign up to volunteer… somewhere. I’ve found a few volunteer orgs but I’d love to get some suggestions. Who knows, I might even be able to connect with one of them <i>before</i> we get to Ireland.
What volunteer orgs do YOU recommend?