A reality check

When people tell us that they think we need a reality check, whose reality are they referring to? What we believe to be real is based upon our perception of the moment. It is colored by our emotional state, our belief system, and the stimuli around us. While on safari in South Africa, several of the passengers in our jeep shared their version of reality relating to a close encounter with a pride of lions. Remember that we were all supposedly in the same place at the same time. Each story was different ranging from the details to the emotions of the event. One passenger felt a sense of danger from having the large cats so close while I was feeling a sense of fascination and awe being in their presence. Whose reality was correct? My job was not to talk the other person out of their version, but to acknowledge and honor it. I also accepted that my experience constituted my reality. There are as many versions of reality as there are people inhabiting this planet. Our reality can change in the blink of an eye when we choose to view it from a different perspective. Think of a time when you felt terror when you were in a movie theater watching a horror movie and then reminded yourself that this was only a film. The terror was real for you and yet it was attached to a nonthreatening source of emotion and information. We have the power to define our reality at any moment. Think of the framework for how you would prefer to experience it. What does your reality look like at this moment?