The thin line that reality lies upon presents a problem that many will have to face. This is due in part by the fact that not many of us can truly grasp what reality is. The most encompassing definition comes from the Oxford Dictionary which describes it as, “the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them”. As Gilbert describes in a chapter of his book titled, Immune to Reality, when faced with harsh realities people naturally look to create notional ideas to shield themselves from the bitter truth. The psyches defenses lie in wait for those devastating moments in one’s life, ready to twist situations to make them bearable. However, as much as we may want, novelist Phillip K. Dick aptly points out “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away” (The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick). No matter how hard one tries to escape it, even with the help from a crafty psyche, reality will always persist. The human psyche is a flawed mechanism that vaults people into a land of make-believe where character development is stunted and happiness is but a hollow emotion.
As a result of the human psychological immune system, people begin to lose track of what they actually experience, and what is just a fabrication of the mind. One of Gilbert’s main points is that human psychology allows us to spin facts to make very upsetting situations easier to handle. Gilbert specifically says, “When experiences make us feel sufficiently unhappy, the psychological immune system cooks facts and shifts blame in order to offer us a more positive view.” (Gilbert 139). A recurring phrase that Gilbert uses is “cooking the facts”. He makes the comparison of a chef ...
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...cal immune system, of lessening the impact of harsh events to keep it sane. However, it detracts from the whole experience of living and therefore its pros do not outweigh its cons. The psyche is able to effectively take the edge off of memories that may sting but it also jeopardizes what is regarded to be the very definition of reality. In order for it to work, it must dupe the mind into believing altered facts which inevitably produces negative consequences. It also robs people of valuable learning experiences by enabling the person to unconsciously evade the problem. The other function of the system which explains and rationalizes memories also detracts from a successful lifestyle as well. The psychological immune system may very well destroy a person’s entire perception of reality while limiting their potential and ability to experience unadulterated joy.
When individuals face obstacles in life, there is often two ways to respond to those hardships: some people choose to escape from the reality and live in an illusive world. Others choose to fight against the adversities and find a solution to solve the problems. These two ways may lead the individuals to a whole new perception. Those people who decide to escape may find themselves trapped into a worse or even disastrous situation and eventually lose all of their perceptions and hops to the world, and those who choose to fight against the obstacles may find themselves a good solution to the tragic world and turn their hopelessness into hopes. Margaret Laurence in her short story Horses of the Night discusses the idea of how individual’s responses
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” -Philip K. Dick
Personally Saturday nights are my favorite, and I followed the same routine every weekend. So why would this weekend be any different? My room felt cozy as I looked up time to time to see my twinkling Christmas lights I leave up all year. I loved how the sweet scent of vanilla filled up the plain air of my bedroom. Wearing my biggest sweatshirt that dangled at my fingertips, I sat on my bed leaning comfortably on my pillows. Every now and then, the sound of a notification would break the sound of silence. This is how I preferred my Saturday nights to be.
Growing up for me some would say it was rather difficult and in some ways I would agree. There have been a lot of rough times that I have been through. This has and will affect my life for the rest of my life. The leading up to adoption, adoption and after adoption are the reasons my life were difficult.
"Forms of life resemble what I call, 'realities'. Forms of life are always form of life forming. Realities are always realities becoming" (Mehan & Wood, Five Features of Reality, 65). What is Reality? Is reality what everyone believes in or does everyone have his or her own reality? Can your reality change what you believe in? Is reality a belief, or is it what you believe in your reality? Can your reality be right or wrong?
Holistically, Kleist manages to imbue the notion that the presence of ambiguities serves as a hindrance to understanding and discovering the true nature of things as well as in defining one’s role within the constructs of a given society. In choosing to conform to society’s expectations and allowing oneself to remain incognizant about reality, people subject themselves to a sense of complacency and ignorance that can provide for detrimental results.
I was called into admin with three managers sitting around. My department just passed the district walk-through a week before, the department was doing great, so I was curious to see what this meeting was about. My boss and bosses boss where sitting down, a lady from human resources was phone conferencing in. Defining moments in my life have helped shape my mindset. More so, it has allowed me to venture in a way to live my life with pure happiness and fulfillment. My defining moment was being let go of my job. I was completely devastated and felt like I was kicked sideways.
The story about I Martranika Gross, called changing my life. It all begin with many ideals that I had in mind to become while changing my life so my daughter will fix in. First was continue my education at Strayer University and a journey to follow. Next, becoming a role model with a pathway lay out for my daughter, a showing her not to stay you can’t to become successful. Finally, overcome obstacles first you have to have faith within yourself, and the key word is knowledge.
I was born and raised in New York City and lived there until the summer of 2008. In the 14 years of living in New York City, I had numerous events that influenced my life. Each event serves as a memory of something that once was. Trying to decide which memorable event from my past to write about is difficult because many of the events in my life have shaped me into the person I am. To narrow down an event, I am choosing to write about my experience of attending Green River Preserve summer camp located in North Carolina, where I learned to appreciate nature and all the living things around me.
There have been tons of things that I have learned and been taught in my life, by a number of people such as family, teachers, or even friends on occasion. The things they taught me vary from math and other related subjects to just some truly simple yet meaningful life lessons. However, there is nothing quite as unique, quite as special as a person teaching themselves a life lesson. It really is an amazing accomplishment for a person to teach themselves something. It is not quite as simple as another person teaching them something because it is not just the transferring of information from one person to another. The person instead has to start from scratch and process the information they have in their mind in order to come up with a new thought
My life experiment was to learn and memorize 5 new signs a day. Along with learning new signs, once a week I did a worksheet from a workbook I got for Christmas. After getting sign language flashcards, workbooks, and a sign language dictionary, I was and still am feeling motivated to learn five new signs a day. This was my choice for my life experiment because in college I want to major in Communication Sciences and Disorders, to eventually become a Speech Pathologist. A Speech Pathologist helps either kids or adults who have a difficulty in their speech which, in some cases, means working with patients that are hard of hearing. Learning Sign Language is essential in becoming my dream career.
I never really thought about where my life was going. I always believed life took me where I wanted to go, I never thought that I was the one who took myself were I wanted to go. Once I entered high school I changed the way I thought. This is why I chose to go to college. I believe that college will give me the keys to unlock the doors of life. This way I can choose for myself where I go instead of someone choosing for me.
One of them was that I was on my journey with someone. I was on the journey with my boyfriend Dusty whom I have been with for four years. I am more like myself when I am with someone, especially Dusty, than when I am by myself. I do think that spending time with just yourself is a waste of time. You should just be out talking to people because who knows when that dreaded day of death will come. I think that you should just seize the moment and spend time with people. When I am by myself, I am quiet and withdrawn, but when I am with people, I talk up a storm and have a fun time just being me. I donÕt hold things back or try to act like someone IÕm not.
I have a very fulfilling feeling about what I have been able to accomplish in my life so far. I want the absolute best for myself and those close to me. I often go above and beyond to help those around me succeed and be the best version of themselves that they can possibly be.
Shastri, P. (2013). Resilience: Building immunity in psychiatry. Indian Journal Of Psychiatry, 55(3), 224-234. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.117134