“If we chased truth as intensely as we chase illusions, we would be free quickly.” — Alan Cohen
This quote resonated with me. How true is that statement?! I know for myself, I’ve spent a lifetime chasing the girl I’m supposed to be, or the girl I thought I was supposed to be. I’m supposed to be thin, I’m supposed to be financially well-off by now, I’m supposed to be much further along in life than I am at this point…
The chasing of the dreams and the expectations can have a draining effect on our psyches. I know I’m awfully tired chasing those “supposed to bes”…
I think it’s about time that I finally learn to be satisfied with where I am, what I am and who I am — to be satisfied with the truth of me. And maybe, just maybe, that will set me free…
Open Your Mind and Go All Rights Reserved by l*aura** (Flickr Commons Photo Sharing)
What about you? Are you chasing truth or illusions?
Charles Allen Gilbert completed the classic black & white optical illusion in 1892. It can be seen as a pretty girl admiring her reflection in a mirror, or as an ominous skull in the background. The tableau is exquisite and the message is clear.
Illusion: the image created by imagination and having no objective reality. Things look different than they really are. Illusion is something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality, a false impression.
Do you get caught up in the constant drive to achieve some ideal and seemingly unattainable version of yourself and your life? I do. Or I should say I used to. I don’t so much anymore because after 50 years it’s finally sinking in that so much of what I see is illusion.
I see model-thin women, making self-deluding statements with their latest must-have fashions, and for years I’ve been insanely jealous but now I know that what lies beneath the veneer of confident smiles is a woman who is just as unsatisfied with her body as I am with mine.
Every day I see façades of happy couples but I know that behind the façade is a pair of individuals who are essentially miserable being married.
I see those who have so much money they couldn’t possibly spend it all in a lifetime, yet they hold on to it so tightly as if that money defines their identity and is inextricably tied to their core being. I can’t help but yearn to have that kind of money and I tell myself, with me, it would be different; I wouldn’t fall victim to its spell. But is that the truth?
I look to all the mansions and expansive homes with indulgent envy but I’m pretty sure now that the people inside are just as fucked up as the rest of us.
TS Eliot said “Humankind cannot handle very much reality.” I’d say that’s probably not far from the truth. We all seem to live in a land of illusion and for the most part, we seem to be pretty okay with it…maybe because we don’t even realize it.
So, is reality overrated? What do you think? Is illusion a preferred state?
Welcome to the grand illusion Come on in and see what’s happening Pay the price, get your tickets for the show The stage is set, the band starts playing Suddenly your heart is pounding You’re wishing secretly you were a star
But don’t be fooled by the radio The TV or the magazines They’ll show you photographs of how your life should be But they’re just someone else’s fantasies So if you think your life is complete confusion ‘Cause you never win the game Just remember that it’s a grand illusion And deep inside we’re all the same We’re all the same
So if you think your life is complete confusion Because your neighbor’s got it made Just remember that it’s a grand illusion And deep inside we’re all the same
America spells competition Join us in our blind ambition Get yourself a brand new motorcar Someday soon we’ll stop to ponder What on earth’s this spell we’re under We made the grade and still we wonder Who the hell we are
Lyrics to “The Grand Illusion” by Styx, the title track of their 1977 Grand Illusion album
