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Puppets, Poppets, and Purple Prose
Nov. 9th, 2001 10:01 pmI have a lot of stuff that needs thinking about. I've started to notice a pretty major inconsistency between my perceptions of myself and those of the people around me - not just my friends, which I could brush off as skewed due to emotional entanglement, but others, too. And it's left me wondering whose perceptions are right, if any. They can't both be true, they contradict too strongly. So... which ones better represent reality? And, from there, what *is* reality?
What is real? It's a question that has probably been pondered by thousands of philosophers, all of them more qualified than me. It's the question the velveteen rabbit asked the skin horse. It's a problem that I'm sure Pinnochio wondered about as he watched the blue fairy work her magic upon him. And, as I look at those last two examples, I wonder if our search for reality is motivated by our search for love. Not necessarily romantic love, but a deep, soul-changing connection to another individual - it was love that made the rabbit real, and Gepetto's love for Pinnochio that likely made him want to be a real boy.
When we're trapped inside our own heads, wrapped safely in the cocoon of our own doubts, convictions, and self-perceptions, we don't question the honesty of the world we create there. We believe because we have no reason not to, because we have been taught to trust our senses, and we have no other input to trust. But in reaching out for love, we are engaging new senses, opening up to a different source of input that can run counter to the rest of what we percieve. And in order to fully process this, and to accept what we find and build a stable relationship, we need to know what the true reality is instead of just the one we build for ourself.
To honestly love is to create a connection to the world outside oneself that will irrevocably change everyone involved, even if the love itself eventually fades. It requires a turning-outside of focus, which also depends upon a recognition of reality - one can't rely upon the world inside their head when they're trying to create something which, while they are a part of it, exists apart from them and makes *them* a part of it.
None of this answers my question of what is real, or which is real, or who is right. But I think maybe it helps me understand the question a little more, or at least why I need to ask it now. Maybe. Maybe not. I need to think some more.....
What is real? It's a question that has probably been pondered by thousands of philosophers, all of them more qualified than me. It's the question the velveteen rabbit asked the skin horse. It's a problem that I'm sure Pinnochio wondered about as he watched the blue fairy work her magic upon him. And, as I look at those last two examples, I wonder if our search for reality is motivated by our search for love. Not necessarily romantic love, but a deep, soul-changing connection to another individual - it was love that made the rabbit real, and Gepetto's love for Pinnochio that likely made him want to be a real boy.
When we're trapped inside our own heads, wrapped safely in the cocoon of our own doubts, convictions, and self-perceptions, we don't question the honesty of the world we create there. We believe because we have no reason not to, because we have been taught to trust our senses, and we have no other input to trust. But in reaching out for love, we are engaging new senses, opening up to a different source of input that can run counter to the rest of what we percieve. And in order to fully process this, and to accept what we find and build a stable relationship, we need to know what the true reality is instead of just the one we build for ourself.
To honestly love is to create a connection to the world outside oneself that will irrevocably change everyone involved, even if the love itself eventually fades. It requires a turning-outside of focus, which also depends upon a recognition of reality - one can't rely upon the world inside their head when they're trying to create something which, while they are a part of it, exists apart from them and makes *them* a part of it.
None of this answers my question of what is real, or which is real, or who is right. But I think maybe it helps me understand the question a little more, or at least why I need to ask it now. Maybe. Maybe not. I need to think some more.....
