Imposter Reality

To understand true reality, the unseen real around us, sometimes requires unmasking the seen that poses as real.

I like the way my friend Abner put it in his blog on Nov. 2: "This was my train of thought as I stood in line at Ralph’s yesterday; one cashier, and about six people in front of me.

"As Americans we are a physically, emotionally and spiritually obese people. We’re so use to having our way that when it doesn’t happen, we are faster than anyone else on the face of the planet to feel that sense of entitlement. “I want it, I should have it, I deserve it.”

We get angry at having to wait in a line of more than 3 people for groceries, or, as Abner points out, getting stuck in traffic during rush hour. What do we expect?

Or I like the way Dave Barry put it in his column on piñatas. He describes the moment when the piñata opens, "releasing a cascade of candy and cheesy toys. This is when things get really violent, as the children -- who own literally billions of much nicer toys -- dive to the ground and engage in a desperate, life-or-death struggle for items that they will immediately lose."

I try to remember the way Jesus put it, and to quote it to myself often: "Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."