What it takes to feel

Reality: re-al-i-ty, noun:

1. the state or quality of being real

2. resemblance of what is real

The wikipedia entry for reality says this, "Reality, in everyday usage, means the state of things as they really exist. In a sense, it is what is real."

If asked to define reality, I think most people might have a tough time. And the answers you might recieve would be wide and varied. For me the words that come to mind are individualism, struggle, subjectivism, people, emotion, perception. And when I try to define my own reality I'm not really sure where to start.

I am amazed at what it takes for people, including myself, to recognize and appreciate the foundations that make up our lives. The most important things to us are usually the same things that we take for granted. They go unnoticed until something drastic happens, leaving us wide eyed in disbelief. There are examples all around us, of people making mistakes and trying to warn others not to do the same. A smoker that lost their esophagus. A gangbanger that spent 20 years in prison. An alcoholic that lost their family. They try to warn us, but it never really sinks in. Usually the thoughts are, "that'll never happen to me" or "that doesnt really apply to my life." We cannot learn from mistakes unless we create them ourselves. It would be much easier to look at the people that surround us, listen to what they say and heed the warnings that we hear or dont hear. I'm not sure if its a matter of arrogance or ignorance, but that doesn't work for me. I cannot really understand a situation until I experience the events first hand. And only when I have been caught, trapped or hit bottom of one of life's many pitfalls, do I really get it. We must be broken before we can be mended.

Who are the people you love? Try and imagine of those people were no longer there. Now take that feeling and multiply it by 100. Because that might give you a glimpse of what it will feel like when they really are gone. Dont take your life for granted. Because the reality is, these things WILL happen to you.