Jordan Sumner

November 5, 2015
Definition Essay
I am Reality
If somebody googles Reality they will generally find the definition that reality is what
is actual, but the definition is quite irregular and can go in multiple directions. Reality is
commonly interpreted as the actuality or state of someones surroundings; what actually exists.
When anyone asks another person what reality is the answer tends to refer to something that is
objective and applies to all. Though, it is usually misunderstood that reality can be distinguished
in various ways depending on ones mentality. Reality is not unambiguous, it is relative to the
interpretations and experiences of the individual.
The saying perception is reality can be an erroneous thought or concept. It is not
always valid but at times it can be reliable. The great Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard said,
Once you label me, you negate me. Proverbs 23:7 of the bible states, For as a man thinketh in
his heart so he is. James Allen wrote a literary essay titled As a Man Thinketh which
comments, explains, and pursues the understanding of the power of thought on our
circumstances. Great existentialist philosophers such as Jean Paul Sartre, and Friedrich Nietzsche
expressed that a mans perception can determine his reality as far as he or she sees it. The source
of that perception is founded in thought. The ancestor to every action is a thought. Therefore
reality can at times be judged as a subjective experience. For example, a car accident that results
in injury or damage cannot be denied as having occurred because that sort of behavior would
indicate a form of psychosis. That reality is the kind of reality we understand as tangible and

observable from every perspective afforded to the observer. However, let us now go to an
individual who, born in Africa in the 1700s, is captured by a rival tribe, and sold to Europeans
who participate in the slave trade. This individual may take this experience and accordance to his
thought; see it as a journey involving a rite of passage for his spiritual growth. A positive so to
speak in the midst of what man y would perceive as a curse. This can be described as a slave is
not a slave unless he recognizes his master as such. Reality is consistent in that reality is the
representation or demonstration of tangible and objective events in our living world. But
perception is that human variable that can have profound and significant effects on the reality
of the individual. A paradox or at the very minimum a definition that is affected greatly by the
thoughts and perceptions of each individual that experiences any given event. The expression
Denial of reality is a psychological concept. An example is the alcoholic or drug addict who
fails to or refuses to recognize the effects his or her behavior are having on their life and
continues through this denial to perpetuate a reality they soon will be forced to acknowledge as
what is stereotypically referred to as a bottom. So, reality is reality. Events are just that. John
Kennedy was assassinated. The battle of Gettysburg took place. The moon landing was a real
event. September 11th, 2001 did in fact, take place. But then we have the individual. We have the
perception. We have the vantage point of observers and those physically involved. This is where
perception is reality. This is where opinion, objectivity, subjectivity, perspectives, attitudes,
optimism, pessimism, motives, personal history, and direct effects come into play to define
reality for the human race in a very unique and individual way.
In conclusion, there are two types of realities. The first is the reality of tangible, readily
observable, objective, and testable events that cannot be denied without arriving at a diagnosis of
cognitive dissonance. Then there is what can be referred to as the Power of Positive Thinking

or As a man thinks so he is. Reality where perception and the power of our own thoughts and
experiences dictate how we see the world around us. Therefore the saying I am reality is valid.
But never must the individual venture so far as to ignore the hammer known as life that beats our
path into the direction it must take. That is the reality of the world.