Reality Options
In last week’s post, I wrote about how the practice of meditation can help you change your reality. From there, I got a little surreal in my discussion of what reality even is and if there is only one or if it’s different for everyone, and if light exists outside of the function of your eyes. I love thinking about trippy stuff.
And, because Bizarro Jazz Pickles tend to be a bit trippy, lots of people appreciated it and resonated with it. But, of course, on the yin side of that yang, some did not.
Which is as it should be. Everybody (and everything) in the universe is necessarily different and that’s pretty much the secret of how it works together. If the whole universe were made of suns, it would be too bright and hot for anything else. If the whole universe were made of humans, there’d be no place for anyone to sit. You get the idea. I mention this because today’s comic (above) will need a bit of explaining and some of it will touch on what I wrote about last week.
One reader who disagreed with my ideas about reality in last week’s post said, in part, this:
“Facts are facts. There really can only be one truth. If your house is burning down and you think it’s just sunny … you’re gonna die in that fire. Your perception or imagination doesn’t even dent reality.”
He’s right about your house fire, of course; you can’t wish it away as it is happening. But the last part of his comment—“Your perception or imagination doesn’t even dent reality”—I disagree with completely. But it’s really only a matter of how you frame it and here’s why.
Your house burns down and that’s a reality you can’t change. But how you receive the event will determine your path forward and that’s also reality; a reality you can completely create.
If you see losing those possessions as the end of your world and you relive the tragedy of it over and over in your mind, you’ll very likely find yourself living something that feels like the end of the world. You will have turned a traumatizing, one-time event into a daily occurrence.
If, however, you see it as an opportunity to realize what’s really important in life, if you’re grateful that no one lost their life, if you admit that you probably identified too closely with your “things” and see it as a motivation to adjust your priorities for the better, your reality will likely be very different and a lot more pleasant. That’s how we create our reality.
And that brings us to today’s Sunday comic above. (Thanks to Cliff Harris The King Of Wordplay for this fun pun/idea!) There is a concept in eastern philosophies that pain and suffering are different things: pain is a physical act, suffering is a mental process. Put simply, pain is what happens to us, suffering is what we do with it. And, for those unfamiliar with the term, “dharma” is also from eastern philosophy and refers to the nature of reality.
Apply all of that to today’s cartoon as you will. As with everything in life, this cartoon can be seen as multi-layered and profound, or a quick chuckle over a simple pun. The choice is always yours.
Another choice that’s yours is to enjoy reading the book pictured above. It’s a humble bit of humorous fiction by a writer you’ve likely never heard of but that I’m newly crazy about. I only found out about him because the publisher asked me to provide a blurb for this latest release. I agreed to give it a look and loved this book so much I followed it with an older one of his. He has quite an oeuvre of work and I intend to read them all. You can read my full blurb about Jeremy Bannister by going to the bottom of this page , but if you’re too lazy, here’s my favorite excerpt from it:
“…my existential donkey…”
There’s also a cool story behind the author, Gary Reilly. He was a much-beloved guy, wrote a lot of books, but only ever had one (award-winning) short story published before he died much too young. In his will, he left his manuscripts to a couple of buddies of his who then started their own tiny publishing company strictly for Gary’s books. Gary’s widow gets all the profits, the publisher-friends keep nothing. Awesome, right?
Scott Simon from NPR loves this guy’s books and has talked about them on the air from time to time, so if you love them, too, you’re in good company.
Whew! I had a lot to cover today but now I’ll shut up. Let’s enjoy the sensation of my cessation by reading Wayno’s oeuvre of Bizarro cartoons from this week!…
As he mentions on his weekly cartoon blog post, Wayno has used this same weird dude a few times. Aside from the Secret Symbols, he’s the closest thing to a recurring character that Bizarro has. I think he fits the part really well.
Some folks were confused by this one but here at Bizarro International Headquarters, we take pride in that.
This is just a great cartoon IMHO.
I can never get enough of Wayno’s riveting dialogue.
Later in life, he became Captain Hypertension.
That’s the conclusion of our comic pub crawl, Jazz Pickles. Thanks for hanging around until even crawling was beyond our capability. If you’re looking for some way to thank us for all the free cartoons and thought-provoking chuckles without having to put up with clickbait and ads, the links below have been provided for your convenience. Our gratitude will be palpable.
Until next week, be present in every moment and don’t give a thought about next week.
BIZARRO SHOP We have new stuff in the shop that’s fun and cheap!
…Signed, numbered, limited edition prints and original Bizarro panels