Reality. It seems so… solid, doesn’t it? We walk around as if the world is a fixed, unshakable thing. But what if I told you that virtually everything we think of as “reality” is just a collection of assumptions we’ve inherited, never questioned, and accepted as gospel?
Buckle up—we’re about to go full rabbit hole. And yes, it’s going to get weird.
1. "Normal" is Just a Group Hallucination
We act as if there’s a universal standard of normal, but history proves otherwise. At different points in time, it was “normal” to wear powdered wigs, bleed people to cure them, and challenge someone to a duel over an insult.
What’s “normal” today is just a phase. Future generations will look back at us, shaking their heads and whispering, “Can you believe they used to sit in traffic for hours just to go to work?”
Or better yet, "Can you believe people used to trade hours of their lives for little digital numbers in a bank account, which they never even saw in physical form?" Think about it—most of our wealth is just numbers on a screen, moving between banks, existing only because we believe it does.
2. Who Are You, Really? (No, Seriously.)
You probably think of yourself as a singular, stable “you.” But is that really true? The you from ten years ago would barely recognize the you today. Your thoughts, preferences, even the cells in your body have changed. So which version is the real one?
What if “you” are just a constantly shifting thought pattern, trying to convince itself it’s permanent?
3. The Past, the Future, and Even "Now" Are Just Mental Projections
We spend so much time stressing over the past and future. But let’s be real: the past only exists in your memory, and memories are notoriously unreliable (ask any two siblings about their childhood—you’ll get different stories). The future? Pure imagination. It doesn’t exist yet.
But what about "now"? Surely the present moment is real, right? Well… not exactly. What you experience as “now” is actually just your brain interpreting sensory input with a slight delay. By the time you think you’re experiencing the present, it’s already passed. Your reality is, at best, a mental reconstruction—a slightly lagging interpretation of what just happened.
So if the past is memory, the future is imagination, and the present is a delayed mental projection… where does reality actually exist?
4. "You" and "Everything Else" Are Just Mental Constructs
Your mind creates an idea of "you"—a sense of being separate, an identity, a personality. But at the same time, it also constructs an "other"—everything that is not you. The world, people, objects, space. But here’s the twist: both are made up in the same place—your mind.
Your brain receives raw sensory data—light, sound, touch—and interprets it into a world. It gives meaning to shapes, colors, and sensations and calls it "reality." But without your mind doing this interpretive dance, there would be no distinction between "you" and "everything else." The idea of a self, and the idea of a separate world, are two sides of the same illusion.
So if both "you" and "not-you" are constructs of the same mind… is there really a divide at all?
5. Ownership is a Collective Make-Believe Game
You “own” your house, your car, your favorite mug. But what does that even mean? You can’t really own land—you’re just temporarily existing on it. And yet, we all agree that a piece of paper saying you own it makes it true.
Try explaining private property to a squirrel. They’ll be like, “Oh cool, you have a deed? I have acorns. Let’s see whose claim lasts longer.”
6. The "Right" Way to Do Things Is Just a Myth
Why do we cut sandwiches into triangles? Why do we butter toast a certain way? Why is there a “correct” way to fold towels? Somewhere along the way, someone did it first, and everyone else just… copied.
What if there is no right way to do anything? What if you could invent your own way to eat cereal, wear socks, or organize your books? Who’s going to stop you? The reality police?
7. Control is a Brilliantly Convincing Illusion
We like to believe we’re in control of our lives. But can you control your next thought? Can you guarantee that tomorrow will go exactly as planned? Can you make sure your phone battery never dies at the worst possible moment? Nope.
Control is something we chase because it makes us feel safe. But the truth is, life is one big improvisation. And the sooner we embrace that, the freer we become.
So, What Now?
The moment you realize reality is more flexible than you thought, things get way more interesting. You stop taking invisible rules so seriously. You start questioning things you once accepted without thought. And maybe—just maybe—you give yourself permission to play with reality instead of just obeying it.
Because if so much of reality is made up, why not make up something better? 😉