You Know What Gets Me? Reality Itself

 When I was younger, I used to watch a movie called The Matrix starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Ann Moss. The movie was ahead of its time (though not everyone has heard about another movie called Johnny Mnemonic which also starred Keanu Reeves as the titular character and the premise is slightly similar but not as thought-provoking) and makes one question about the meaning of existence. "What is real? How do you define 'real?'" Morpheus asked. In my opinion, this question is the nature of the meaning of reality. How does one know what is real and what is not? 

You know what gets me? The idea that everything we experience might be filtered, constructed, artificial, or even illusory. We trust our five senses -- sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. They feel honest, but are they showing us true reality or just the version our brain assembles? Then there's that possible "sixth sense" -- intuition, gut feelings, psychic connections, and moments that are unexplainable through science or religion. I'm not a scientist or psychologist, so I will not pretend to have the definitive answer. These are just my honest observations as another human trying to navigate existence.

To be introspective is to question everything, including the self. One question I keep returning to is this: If I am who I am and that's all that I am, then who am I when I don't know who I am? That tension is the perceived self and the unknown self that feels central to the human condition. Think of this as a tug-o-war in your mind. You want to understand yourself, yet you don't know yourself.

Living in this world makes these questions feel more immediate. One moment you're watching the sunrise over the lake, ocean, city, or mountains, feeling utterly real. The next, you're in a car stuck in traffic or on a crowded train dealing with some unsavory passengers talking out of their minds making you question if this is truly tangible.

Sometimes whenever I interact with people I often wonder if they too question reality or if they are part of the cogwheel of existence. Maybe they look at the stars and see endless possibilities or perhaps they just don't give a flying fuck and solely focus on staying in script.

I don't have the answers, but I believe the willingness to ask questions -- honest and without flinching -- is one of the most important things we can do.

-- Cameron Belmont