This essay, originally written in 1988, was born of my frustration with those who accused me of being too much the dreamer...

"Reality" is an overused, tired cliche. What is "reality?" What components contort this quality, the value of which is judged by viewpoint, into a granite object not to be confused by the distortions of real life? Who has the right to impress that the reality of this world is in essence the reality of all worlds? It seems people are continually admonished to step into the "real" world. Does the "real" world constitute "reality," or is it simply that the "real" world is based upon one's circumstance and attitude? Where does reality enter into the judgment? Certainly the denial of crippling personal problems creates a fairy tale within which one can live, or flee, and though this artifice is obviously not part of the "real" world, who can say that it is not a valid reality? Dictionary.com defines reality as "the state or quality of being real, a real thing or fact." It further describes it as "something that constitutes a real or actual thing, as distinguished from something that is merely apparent." In other words, reality is that which exists free of human perception, perception being an enigmatic quality, such as instinct. The definition for "perception" reads: "The act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind." How could someone judge an apparently absolute state such as reality without the intuitive means of perception? When one considers how stringently we humans cling to the textbook directives on judging one's sense of reality, it becomes painfully obvious that we are hopelessly dependent upon the realities and perceptions of a select few. Dare one ask, who judges these select few? Who determines that their viewpoints on reality are true , and by what measure? And who determines that these same select few are not quietly mad and determined to replace the idiosyncracies and eccentricities that give an individual his unique color and texture with the pallid gray of cardboard scholarship belonging to one who cannot accept his own individuality? Speaking strictly in the layman's sense, would it not be more practical to center less on one's perception of reality and more on their choice of response? If reality can be altered to suit, of what value is it when behavioral tendencies are prone to transition? And if, indeed, one's sense of reality can be altered, and reality is judged through individual perception, who is to say there is reality in the reality of reality?