Suspended Reality

I stopped by to visit Uncle Bubba on a quiet afternoon. I found him sitting in his backyard, in a shady spot reading a book. I nearly stopped and retreated in quiet as I feel that a person quietly reading is sacred event. But Uncle Bubba noticed me and smiled as he rested the book on his lap and motioned for me to join him. As I sat down near him he told me about the book he was reading. After a brief plot summary our discussion turned to the idea of suspending one's reality to lose one's self in a story. It's no secret that human mind has the ability to suspend reality and buy into the apparition of a story. It's so much more enjoyable to believe in the setting and that the characters exist and revel in their adventures and emotions. Bubbie gave me a knowing squint as he described this as a gift from God, an escape from the stress and brutality of a world also manufactured by men. This also incorporates what has been described as the suspension of disbelief in which the reader would suspend judgment concerning the implausibility of the narrative and often applies to fictional works. This is because its man's nature to be skeptical and disbelieving.

Juxtapose this now against the current chaotic climate of Reality TV, Facebook, and Twitter where the mundane and inane is posted and proclaimed as the truth. The imagination of the person posting is exercised in the reflection of their perceived reality, yet the readers do not suspend reality, but take everything as actuality. It no sooner hits the web or the airwaves than the news outlets pounce on it to be the first to proclaim it as truth and thus validate the inveracity. In Bubbie's view, our willingness to use "reality" as entertainment causes a loss in our ability to separate fact and fiction and therefore creating a void in our intellect. In our laziness to challenge an allegation or account we easily fall prey to ignorance. This way of living, this self imposed brainwashing threatens our ability to learn a lesson from a story; to suspend reality and explore morality without causing harm to others. But in Bubbie's eternal optimism he walked with me back to my truck with the idea that by pausing, by taking the time to discover the truth, we can move ahead while holding onto the best of what humanity has learned.