Unbeknownst to most, depression is usually felt by those who see the world accurately. This is a psychological phenomenon that was found unintentionally. Researchers set out to show that depressed individuals perceived their world worse than it really is – but what they found, was the opposite.
Happy individuals see the world through rose-colored glasses. They leap, metaphorically, from one wave top to the next without deeming it worth their time to explore, or even acknowledge, the troughs. They are rewarded with energy, positivity, increased work productivity, and more friends. Yet, in fact, their minds reside in a world that doesn’t actually exist. The question is: Does it matter?
We scream and fight over the points of reality versus perception and opinion. We demand others see the world through our eyes. We require people to appreciate data. But what is the point? What is our goal?
We claim that we “just want our children to be happy,” but is that really true? What cost are we willing to pay to ‘be happy’? Are we willing to skew reality and tell ourselves lies to achieve a state of happiness? Are we willing to reject others’ suffering so we can avoid the troughs of the world that might bring us down? Are we willing to live in squalor and run our lives without thought, being driven by our impulsive desires of immediate joy?
And more to the point…what happens when a whole nation abandons reality? Truth? Data? What happens when we make up our reality?
