Reflection: Some People Just Believe What They Believe...

Every day, it seems like we read about yet another thing that is the result of some "evil influence" or overlord or cabal in the world wanting to kill or control everybody.

I've reached the point where I recognize it is simply a fact of life that some people are absolutely obsessed with turning over every stone the encounter, in case there's something underneath it that's going to harm them or kill them.

Whereas I certainly believe in having at least a rudimentary understanding of the world around me, I just don't have the temperament to view every single thing that ever happens as some kind of threat, even when it is totally harmless.

As I watch some of my friends and acquaintances online freak out over some new "potentially dangerous" thing they just heard… I find myself wondering what it must be like to live with that degree of anxiety?

An interesting thing I learned from my father when I was quite young — not something I expect most people get to hear as a life lesson — is that there a lot of people in the world who are quite simply mentally ill.

I should add that in his world, ”mentally ill” didn't necessarily suggest people who thought they were seeing ghosts, hearing voices or were somehow delusional, it meant people who saw and did utterly irrational things and were unable to distinguish between them and the concrete reality that was unfolding in front of their faces.

I suppose there are those who would argue that for some people those "visions" within their imagination is the concrete truth and it's the rest of us who are mentally ill.

Again, I'm not casting doubt on the actual visions, I'm pondering when someone seems unable to distinguish between a vision, and their brother crossing the street.

Consensus can be a strange thing.

Let's for argument's sake agree that there's more or less consensus that we have something called "gravity," and as a result of that we don't all just fly off the surface of the planet and go bouncing around like the little balls inside of one of those machines they used to draw the lottery numbers.

In some person's "reality" they may be fully convinced that — in fact — there is no such thing as gravity and they can float around as they want. Even if I were to concede that this may be true for them, that still doesn't mean that the rest of us don't have to somehow be bound by the theory of gravity. If I jump off the corner a very tall building I'm going to hit the ground below with a mighty big splat!

Oddly enough — just to continue with the "gravity" parable — if I invite one of those people who believes they just float around freely to also jump off the corner of that building... it's odd how often they suddenly develop a severe case of cold feet and come up with a million reasons for why now is not a good time to go flying.

From where I'm sitting, I'd say that's a little suspect!

It's really not my place to judge people and their belief systems, however... some things simply don't stand up to scrutiny. Including a number of people I know who sincerely believe they are being "followed" and persecuted, even though they remain completely unable to even come close to showing me how.

Sometimes, the world is a very strange place, indeed!

Thanks for reading and have a great Friday!

How about YOU? Do you know anybody who has "odd" beliefs or fears that make no sense at all? Do they seem out of touch with reality? Do leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20220818 22:10 PDT
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