CONTEXT SAC2: PROMPT 1 ‘ILLUSIONS ARE SAFE WHILE REALITY IS CRUEL’

NOTE TO SELF: WATER THE GARDEN

Something extraordinary happened to me while contemplating the cracks in the earth’s surface in
my garden, where the soil was so parched it could barely hold itself together let alone flourish.
Either I had gone delusional from exposure to the sun, or those cracks resembled more than just a
deficiency in water. Nonetheless I experienced my very first epiphany. And oh how enlightening it
was. You see, our society (and the world for that matter) is as damaged as the dry earth under the
hot sun, sadly neglected like the roses in my front yard. And I thought to myself, why is this? Then I
recalled the way my father turned the television off when the discussion of ‘boat people’ came up. A
very common response to conflicting situations and unpleasant news is to switch it off. Perhaps this
is the cause of all the damage. Neglecting reality when times are tough and succumbing to more
convenient, ‘safer’ fantasies. Ironically, it is when people believe that their illusions are safer that
reality is most cruel.

I have found that lately People have lost sight of the ‘innocent wonders’ within the world. I don’t
blame them, but as a result they seem to surrender to their own preferable delusions to cope with
such misfortune. There are certain issues that dominate reality, contributing to its misery, such as
the staggering amount of refugees. These underprivileged people are still seeking asylum and
holding onto the hope of a new home, while those who are capable of granting them this are too
busy distracting themselves with their own sheltered lives. Is this the result of a general lack of
compassion from our society, and even humanity as a whole? I don’t think this is the case, I think we
simply prefer to live within our own bubble, off with the fairies, where ‘bad news is taboo’. We
constantly retreat to our ‘castle in the sky’ as it is ‘safe’ in comparison to the cruel and problematic
reality we otherwise face. It has become clear that we so easily give into these ‘safe’ illusions
because we are driven by fear. Fear of bad news, of challenges, of change, of rejection and of
responsibility. Sure we all need a little reassurance. Though when we can’t obtain this in today’s
disappointing reality it is only natural we turn elsewhere to get it, and where else is better than
‘nicey nicey land’ where everyone is ‘happy clappy’. This would explain our current immunity to the
ugly, cruel and inconvenient parts of life such as asylum seekers. However, when you give in to an
artificial world, you too become artificial. You will find yourself admiring the ‘kitsch floral motifs’ on
pretty paper while your roses are left outside, dying. Though this invalid world may seem favourable,
beware as it is in fact precarious and most likely the cause of most of reality’s cruelty in the first
place.

Living within a fictional world, with the false reassurance that accompanies such delusions, produces
a more brutal reality for society and consequently for yourself. There is no doubt that the ‘real
world’ can show little mercy at times and misfortune can be out of our control. But we seem to
spend most of our time passing all of society’s problems off as being out of our own hands,
convincing ourselves that there is simply nothing we can do. There are in fact many issues which can
and should be resolved rather than being neglected when we ‘wilfully retreat’ from their existence
to a more comfortable fantasy. Why do we have so many refugees still seeking asylum? Yes it is a
result of the unliveable conditions they faced in what used to be their home, but this does not
explain the lack of a new one. And all this suffering and more because it is more convenient for
society to turn a blind eye and pretend it doesn’t exist. If we have the means to eliminate particular
issues such as this in the world then why don’t we step out from our pretty problem free illusions
and do so? I’ll tell you why, because in our nicely constructed world where bad things don’t happen
these problems don’t exist. And people still believe that it is safer to live in their fantasies than to
face the cruelty of reality, to prolong further suffering and harm to our delicate world as we refuse
to take any responsibility for our actions, or a lot of the time, lack thereof. Our world and society is
delicate, like a garden. It needs attention, and if it is neglected it just won’t survive.

If we as a society stopped giving into our fictional, idealised illusions then reality would be a better
place. Withdrawing into ‘nicey nicey land’ is ultimately neglecting the world around you and all its
troubles. If we are to make a difference for the greater good we need to face reality and the ugly
stuff. The ‘first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one’, and this requires courage to
overcome our fear of doing so. As Michael Leunig emphasises, ‘there are only two motives...love and
fear’. Today’s reality is the result of being motivated by fear, and it is this fear that is preventing us
from acknowledging society’s issues. We need to take responsibility for these problems, and not
draw back into our illusions, to make a real change. I think it’s time society became more motivated
by love in order to create a brighter reality for all. If we were more motivated by love, then we
would have the courage to take on challenges, to embrace change and to take responsibility. We
could put an end to the suffering of refugees by dealing with reality instead of running from it and
therefore progress to a better, more hopeful world. In the words of the late Canadian opposition
leader, “let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world”. If we were less
motivated by fear and more motivated by love, then we could step out from our delusions and make
a difference in reality for the better.

It is natural to seek reassurance, to prefer a lie when the truth is conflicting. However it is a
dangerous habit, and no excuse to retire permanently into the pretty, happy, carefree illusions we
have constructed due to fear of facing reality. Unfortunately this is exactly what has happened, and
of course what we have ended up with is a world of ‘mess and misery’ that people refuse to even
deal with it. As Michael Leunig would put it, ‘welcome to the drought’, for we are now running
fatally low on courage, initiative and love. But there is hope yet, it’s never too late to water the
garden.