What is Real?

I am eating a peanut butter sandwich. It is in my face, so I can't intellectualize and say its existence is in doubt. It is called Skimpy because it contains cottonseed, rapeseed, soybeans and a few peanuts for flavor. It is a mixed bag. So is Skimpy real peanut butter? Or are the words peanut butter just symbols for smashed peanuts?

Believe an object or idea is real, and it enters into that giant circle that is bursting at the seams with adamant avowals of "I know what is real!" You may feel "this real" in your heart, kidney, big toe, or some other body part that allegedly excels at communication with the NASA of your brain.

The brain is a scanning system. It detects the stool pigeon that informs on the truth. For example, it will tell you that a daffodil is not a daisy, but it is not truthful when it waxes poetic and says, "a rose is a rose is a rose."

Roses differ. Some originate in the soil. Some are plastic, some silk. But all are called a rose. Whatever is real to you, may seem unreal to me because I don't see it or believe it.

Often we exclaim, "This is unreal!" Usually, it is an event that shocks us. We judge it unreal because it doesn't conform to expectations or accepted rules of logic.

Intellectualizing is like having lunch at a buffet spread of pictures. "Real" arrives with the crock pot, preferably containing food.