M-W.com:
1 : the quality or state of being real
2 a (1) : a real event, entity, or state of affairs
- in reality : in actual fact
I don't think this definition is complete because a totally different reality could exist in your head than exists in the world. Say someone thinks he is the coolest person alive and has a lot of friends to show for it. However, the friends, polled individually, all say that the dude is a loser and no one likes him. Is not his internal reality completely different from the external reality? So which is more true? The reality he believes, or the external factual reality (what might be considered the reality of the friends that were polled).
Dictionary.com:
n 1: all of your experiences that determine how things appear to you; "his world was shattered"; "we live in different worlds"; "for them demons were as much a part of reality as trees were" [syn: world] 2: the state of being actual or real; "the reality of his situation slowly dawned on him" [syn: realness, realism] [ant: unreality] 3: the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be; "businessmen have to face harsh realities" 4: the quality possessed by something that is real
I love that the antonym of reality is "unreality".
A lot of people live in their own made-up, comfortable reality instead of facing the world where reality is harsh and cruel. If we don't own up to reality, what do we become? Like dictionary.com says, "demons were as much a part of reality as trees were". We can make ourselves believe anything. People choose unreality because the alternative is harsh, but I think it's bold and daring to face reality. Only the courageous take a step out of their own fantasy land long enough to feel the sting of the external reality. And only a true coward would prefer to wallow in unreality rather than face what's real.
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