You know, I never appreciated John Lennon until I got older and really began listening to his music.  “Let me take you down cause I’m going to Strawberry Fields – nothing is real”.

Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see
It’s getting hard to be someone
But it all works out
It doesn’t matter much to me

More and more of us are living with eyes closed.  There are things we don’t want to see or know about.  We are more comfortable with misconceptions and our own perceptions than reality, whatever that may be.  So then, how do we know what reality is?  Unless you’re in the middle of something, really being mindful, do we really experience the reality of a situation, organization,  institution, philosophy or even a person?

For years now, I’ve come to the realization that we don’t understand reality until we’re right in the middle of it.  Staying on the periphery or watching from the sideline is not the same.  You may observe or have an intellectual understanding of what is happening but you are not experiencing it.  Case in point, I served on a board as an appointed member where I observed the presidents and executive committees giving reports and making speeches and assumed I knew what it was all about.  Until I became president of that same board and the reality changed drastically.  My perceptions were not complete as I didn’t have all the info – I wasn’t in the middle of it.  The more I allow myself to be involved in things, the more I realize my perceptions were incomplete and my perspective changes each time.

I think this realization makes me more aware of the possibilities of what might be going on behind the scenes in other areas of life. Our culture today is beautifully described in the lyrics; “life is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see”.  We see life as we believe it to be, as we observe it to be but not as it is because we’re not engaged in it.  Everything is second and third hand information, based on others perceptions and belief systems and sometimes very little of it is based on fact, reality or truth.  And misunderstanding can lead to hate and distrust and as the song says, it’s all we see.

Sometimes perceptions are manipulated because we want people to believe something that isn’t real to put on our best face.  It’s easy to do because very few people want to get involved enough to see for themselves what the reality really is.  Sometimes perceptions are manipulated because we want people to believe things are better than they really are.  We believe it puts us or our organizations or institutions in a better light to those outside our circle.  The problem is that when the truth comes out, and it will eventually , it breeds more distrust and misperceptions.  It is better to come clean when things aren’t “hunky dory” as my dad used to say, and reach out for help or advice to make things better.  Nothing is perfect and the sooner we understand that, the less misunderstanding there will be.

It doesn’t take much.  One person with a platform in a position of authority can create all kinds of misunderstandings, misconceptions and misperceptions for those who aren’t in the middle of whatever is happening. That’s when things like labeling and categorizing begin, creating the “us versus them” mentality and spewing hatred at anyone who is “them”.  “It’s getting hard to be someone but it all works out – it doesn’t matter much to me”.  But it should matter.  It’s time for all of us to be somebody, to immerse ourselves in those things we are passionate about, to not just assume that things are always going to be a certain way.  The only way to make things real again is to become a part of the realness, to become engaged and stop living with eyes closed. It’s much harder to keep that “us versus them” mentality when reality shows you who they really are and that you may have more in common than you think.

In New York City’s Central Park, near the Dakota where John Lennon was shot and killed, there is an area called Strawberry Fields.  In the middle of this tree sheltered area is a tiled mosaic that says “Imagine”.  I would love to imagine a world where we were real with each other, where misunderstandings could be worked out and we begin living with our eyes wide open.