Having settled that objective reality is whatever most people vote for, and that subjective reality is whatever seems real at the moment, we can now move on to other things.
As I smile at my first sentence I wonder what the second sentence should be. There have been a number of distractions here recently that have kept Pegasus mooning in his stable. First a sick cat who is “miraculously” getting better thanks in part to Herculean struggles by Julia and me designed to send two pills and a squirt of liquid down Buffy’s throat rather than onto the tabletop, the floor, or Julia’s blouse. The daily romp of catching him would make a slapstick movie.
Then we had two human colds to get through (quickly, thank heaven), camcorder demise, still camera breakdown, three days of almost completely nonfunctioning Internet connection, and presently a failing home water heater.
I hesitate to touch any other appliance or get into the car.
The happy news is that the catarrh is gone, the Internet modem and router have been replaced, and a new water heater will arrive tomorrow. Not to mention the good news that after many cold days we are now up in the sunny 70’s. Young squirrels are racing around in circles, bright-breasted robins are pecking in the grass (this is just a stopover for them on a journey to I don’t know where), and the omnipresent azalea shrubs are coming into bloom.
I’ve found myself hesitant about a post for this blog because I don’t know where to go from here. I want PEGASUS come from my head and soul rather than from research projects, and I’ve used up a lot of internally stored subjects since I began FLIGHTS OF PEGASUS in mid-January. Fresh material isn’t as easy to bring to light as it once was. I feel that some really fascinating topic is about to come along, possibly something about prayer -- but it’s not quite here yet.
I can’t resist writing that like a robin, I am hunting for something in the grass during a journey to I don’t know where.
I’ll try to do better. Maybe some kind reader will provide a stimulating comment.
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I like the fact that you acknowledge that you don't know where the journey is taking you.
ReplyDeleteThere is great wisdom in this of course.
Hold your horses there, Pegasus! You may have settled on definitions of objective and subjective reality & be ready to move on, but I ain't.
ReplyDeleteThere's enough material in your first, if provided with enough examples. I take it that "vote" is not a reference to your electoral system but a reference to the majority's view of reality, e.g. most people vote for a spherical and not a flat Earth?
I think there is something misleading in your definition of subjective reality, too: the word "seems".
In both of your definitions, you imply the existence of a "true" reality, which is more accurate than the objective kind, which is nothing but the majority view, and more eternal than the subjective kind, which is subject to the play of the light on surfaces.
OK, now I'm ready to move on too, and want to ask you a question.
Do you think that events we might call "challenges" like those you describe, and others we might call "answers to prayers", choose their time, as it were, to pay us a visit?
I recall some wise saying that we're never given challenges that we don't have the strength to face. those were not quite the words. Suppose the challenges are gifts, designed to teach us something, designed as catharsis, in order to purify the soul?
Much as I try to rid my brainbox of beliefs and conditionings which colour my perceptions, I cannot help but appreciate the timing and content of events in my life. What do you think?
Rob, thank you. Ironically, it's beginning to seem that admitting I don't know anything is my highest accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteYves, I might escape by simply saying in response to your first paragraph, "I have spoken!" but instead I'll hold my winged horse and ponder your comment.
ReplyDeleteAbout my "vote" statement, I had in mind hallucinations and psychotic beliefs more than settling whether the Earth is flat or round. How do we humans decide what is a delusion or hallucination other than by majority rule? If only Mr. A believes that a spaceship is beaming orders into his head, and he wears a foil helmet to protect himself, the other inhabitants of the county call him nuts. But if it is universally accepted that spaceships are beaming orders into our heads, then the individual who doesn't recognize that fact is considered crazy. Going without a foil hat would be regarded as the equivalent of walking into a church service with no clothes on.
Not convinced? If there are five of us in a room, and only one of us sees a giant pink bunny in our midst, who's the crazy one? No matter that there may BE a giant pink bunny that only the one person is able to see.
As for your third paragraph, I don't see how the word "seems" is misleading. I could say "feels real", but it comes to the same thing. Give me a non-misleading sentence if you like.
Next, I don't think that my words imply the existence of a "true" reality -- even though I do feel that there must be some kind of Master Reality.
As for the latter part of your comment, it's on a different subject, and I want to think about it and perhaps use it as the starting point for a new post. What you say is interesting. I'll mull it over.
Thanks for commenting.