Learning From The Other
In our own minds we engage in fantasy and dreams. We also explore legends and myths. But I have also found that my understanding of reality or lack thereof has been built by my clinical experience which means interacting with other people. I found it essential to adopt varying frameworks when I was talking to people. Each of their worlds may be quite different from my world and that means there is a different reality. Early on in my studies I was told that being involved in psychotherapy meant learning from your clients. How true. Not just in psychotherapy, but learning from others is a lifelong process.
Don’t Talk About It!
It is really odd that in most of our lives we simply do not discuss this much. But at the same time I understand why we don’t. What a time sink! In contrast I would argue that it is a worthwhile time sink if we would only focus it. We need not spend all our time on it, but in a social context, for example, we can clarify our policies in a meaningful way if we will see how and why we differ and how it might be reconciled for the common good. In governance it is useful for conservatives and progressives to talk together to construct a functional way forward. Too often it becomes an unproductive ideological battle. Functionality may begin with an abstract approach as we look toward the future of humankind.
Where Is This Going?
When it occurred to me that I wanted to write a post about functional reality I had a sense of what I was thinking. Let’s face it, if you are going to write something it helps to know where you might be going with it. In preparation I googled it and to my surprise I found I was not alone in thinking about it. See what you find when you google functional reality.
Functional Versus Unfocused
I found it useful to create a view of functional reality in my thinking for my clients and as I said I believe it is useful in social planning. Of course, while dealing with the lives of real people it cannot be anywhere near as abstract as this discussion.
We move to another range of functionality when we think about stewardship whether it is of our fellow humans or our planet. At that point we come to a utilitarian functionality.
Varied Tools and Ways Forward
And there is the matter of tools which leads me to my interest in speculative fiction. In fiction we can create a functional reality of sorts which guides the development of our story and our thinking. That in turn lets us to look to future possibilities in our writing and for our own lives.
Maybe I’m a little odd in that regard, but I like to know where I’m going and love to look ahead in other regards. In short, I like to speculate. Perhaps you have similar inclinations. Who knows? We might even uncover the meaning or existence of things such as spirit guides. We really do not know what other life forms there might be nearby. And particularly as we forage in creative lands it just might be that we will get unexpected guidance. Or, sometimes, it is a matter of being willing to go out there and just take a look. There is a range of functionality. There is what serves for right now and it extends out to the utility of what might be and where our dreams may lead us.
What is the usual focus of speculation for you? Do you have a spirit guide?