Webster defines reality as the world or state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.

I think we can all agree that none of us sees things exactly the same. Our reality is the result of what we believe. What we believe is the result of both what we were taught as children and what we learned from experience. So it is no surprise that everyone’s reality is different.

My reality is different than someone living in a third world country, for instance. It’s not that the world is different, its that we all process the information we receive in our own way.

Once we realize this is true and accept that other peoples’ perception is as valid as our own, we gain respect for ourselves and for other people. Once we stop judging other people by our standards and stop judging ourselves by other people’s standards, we gain a freedom within ourselves. With this freedom creativity is unleashed along with clarity, energy and compassion.