The Rift Between Ideals and Reality

Truth hurts. 

Don't we all know that? Truth hurts, because it is not how we want it to be. We want lots of things, but most of those things will not happen. That is why truth hurts. We do not want to fail. We do not want to be reminded that we are not that awesome. 

Photo by Christian Nielsen on Unsplash.

Expectations. 

One of our greatest cognitive ability is the ability to simulate and experiment. I can imagine someone's reaction to certain actions, such as a poke. Most people would turn around to find out what is poking them. We can predict this because we have seen it hundreds of times ourselves. We learn from history, and history binds us. No. 

History is a part of us. 

Without the past, we would not be who we are. Without learning and seeing all the intricacies of life, we would be lost in this complex world. Without practicing tasks over and over again, we would not be able to do anything efficiently. History is similar to experience. They are chains within ourselves that bind us to be us. Breaking that chain would be breaking ourselves. 

Desire. 

In addition to visions and experiences, we are driven by other motivating forces. Especially the desire to be important. When we do things, we are motivated by future rewards. When we cook, we look forward to eating our prepared meal. When we study, we look forward to a higher grade on tests. 

Crushed. 

We are crushed when our expectations, our desires, and the truth misalign. We wanted something, but we did not get it. That is probably a prime cause for frustration and dissatisfaction. As we grow up, we notice it more and more: the rift between our ideal world and the reality. We feel a pang of pain knowing that what we want is merely a fantasy; we feel immature. 

Along the rift. 

We walk along the rift. At times, we look over and see fantasy. At times, we look in front of us and see our treacherous path. Now here is the question. Assuming all the land is treacherous, would you rather walk along the edge of fantasy or in the middle of "treacherous land." 

I would like to change my view once in awhile.