Where is the line between what is real and what is imagined or unconventional? One might think that should be a simple question to answer.
I believe most people would say, “If you can see it, hear it, or touch it, it must be real, right?” However, what if by embracing that way of thinking, I am limiting my ability to look beyond what is observable? How can I view my existence with new eyes?
My Buddhist friends often share that the story of life is about human imagination. It is one with the mind-bending capacity to take seriously the fact that the world I observe might not be all there is to see. They also suggest that, at some point, all spiritual adventures need to come to a moral reckoning with the world.
My interpretation: By letting go of my ego, I will become different. In doing so, my opinions on both earthly and otherworldly matters will as well. If I am fortunate, I might select a path to become more sympathetic, less flawed, and slightly more courageous. That alone might allow me to feel differently about my life and how I interpret everything around me.
Bud Megargee is a former senior behavioral healthcare executive; a Washington, DC., healthcare lobbyist; and an independently published, best-selling and award-winning author. He began writing after exploring Eastern philosophy and alternative medicine techniques in the professional treatment of emotional challenges at a Taiwanese Buddhist monastery.