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What You Were Told May Be Untrue
It could be true — or — it could be a challenge to how you perceive your own reality
When you were a child, your parents told you any number of things. Some were extremely useful, lifelong lessons that would largely go unchanged. Say “please” and “thank you;” look both ways before you cross the street (which, ironically, I personally failed to pay attention to); brush your teeth before bed, and so on.
Other things you were told by your parents, however, were untrue all along. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and other myths to help them help you maintain discipline and/or general entertainment.
As you got older, other sources told you things. Teachers, religious leaders, friends, coworkers, bosses, doctors, and nearly everyone else you encountered. Now the onus of believing what you were told was true or not was entirely on you.
Certainly, there are things that are just not true. The Earth is round, not flat; coffee doesn’t stunt your growth; lying doesn’t make your nose grow, for example. Empirical evidence and your experiences in life help you uncover these things, and recognize what you were told may be suspect.
Yet this can still be a grey area. Why? Because reality is an illusion. Albert Einstein himself postulated that,
“Reality is merely…
