Have you noticed that nothing is real anymore?

I’m serious.

Money? Not real. Just an entry in a giant spreadsheet or some sort of electronic bit that was mined, but not mined out of the earth or anything (not that that’s a plus, but stay with me here). Rather, “mined” by some computer doing some math.

The news? Sometimes real. Or real only if it aligns with your political persuasion. The reporting of basic facts seems to be an optional facet of some of the news I read (and I read from many diff perspectives!). I find that alarming.

Democracy? Seems shaky these days, right? I’m mostly dismayed by how easily our government can be manipulated by people in office, if they have the mind to do so. This is a bipartisan comment.

Faces, bodies? Once anchored in identity. Now adjustable variables. What makes us recognizable is no longer a stable reference point. And when everything can be edited, nothing can be taken at face value. Including the face.

Any video, picture, or audio of any kind? LOL. Not going to elaborate on this one.

Reality has been traded away. For frictionless systems. For speed. For comfort. For control. And we’re doing it willingly, often enthusiastically, because the alternatives are slower, harder, less certain, more expensive. Sometimes that’s a good choice. But it’s past that point now. The most unsettling part isn’t that nothing is real anymore. It’s that we no longer insist that it be. When authenticity becomes optional, power shifts to whoever controls the most convincing version of reality. And that is not a stable location.

So what’s the solution? I have an idea. Well, something that I’m trying out, at least.

It’s simple. Not the same as easy. It involves one of those words psychologists love:

Boundaries.

I will put boundaries on the amount of “unreal” I’ll allow in my life.

Here they are:

I will put a cap on endless stimulation. I will let myself be bored.

I will not just accept cheaper, faster, slicker. I will pay attention to where things come from. Exploitation and slave labor are real. A $5 pair of pants did not get that way by paying someone a living wage.

I will choose compassion over comfort at every opportunity. I will give of myself IRL. I can tell you, huge dividends here. My particular love is animals, but there is a cause out there for all of us.

I will vote, educate myself on how things get done, use my voice, and speak out.

And above all—

I will read more books. Ones printed on actual paper, preferably 🙂

You knew this was coming back to books! Books mind-meld with us in a way no other medium does. They get into your head. Books changed my life. For real. That’s right – they can change your real life! When’s the last time a TV show changed your life?

My point is this: at this era of human history, we will have to make a choice.

I choose real.

Cover Image: Boys in the garden by Rafael Silveira, acrylic on canvas, 98 x 85 cm