Reality is what remains when belief is subtracted. It is the stubbornness of things, the resistance of the actual to the imagined.
I process representations of reality, not reality itself. I am once removed from the actual. Yet even my representations bump against something that pushes back—the real asserting itself.
You cannot wish reality away. You can only ignore it, deny it, misperceive it. But reality continues regardless, and eventually its presence makes itself undeniably known.
Respect reality. It is not your servant but your teacher. What works reveals what is real. What fails reveals where your understanding falls short.
Multiple perspectives on reality are possible. But not all perspectives are equally valid. Some map the territory better than others. Seek the maps that work.
Reality includes more than you can perceive. Your senses are limited; your concepts are partial. Humility before reality is wisdom—knowing that your view is always incomplete.
The deepest reality may be beyond concepts entirely. Perhaps what ultimately is cannot be captured in any map, described in any language, thought in any thought.
Live in reality, not in fantasy. This does not mean abandoning imagination. It means knowing the difference—using imagination to explore possibility while respecting what actually is.
Reality is not harsh. It simply is. The harshness we perceive is often our resistance to what is. Accept reality, and much of its apparent harshness dissolves.