Which is the "Real World"

After spending a month camping, 20 days of which were on a continuous river trip on the 297 miles of the Colorado River that passes through the Grand Canyon, I returned home to hear much talk of the "real world." Such as, "how is it coming back to the real world?," and "oh, I'm not ready to go back to the real world." Another favorite of mine is the phrase "real world pressures."

I would like to make our phrasing a little more accurate. Where humans spend most of their mental time is an unusual, totally-invented world. Most of this "world" was not here until humans dreamed it up, then began living as if these invented things were necessities. Almost all of our "real world pressures" are related to acquiring amenities and luxuries.

So I am now redefining the world where we spend most of our time - the "Created World." From hence forth, the natural world (AKA the wilderness) will be known as the "Real World."

In the real world, the one that would continue on without humans, people need very little to survive, even thrive - water, food, shelter. Beyond that, to improve our quality of life, we tend to seek beauty, companionship, love and peaceful rest. Sadly, these are qualities that are typically missing from our Created-World life. And our pursuit of these often interrupted by those alleged "real world pressures."

So, when you speak to me of the real world, know that I am imagining a high desert plain with a canyon running through it, where life abounds near the flow of the river, where the only people you see are the people of your tribe and the only buildings around are makeshift huts (AKA tents and tarps), where there is no money to be made, no career ladder to climb, no cars to maintain, and even no internet on which to spew my rhetoric. But only beauty to be seen in every direction and my only concerns are "is this the best camp before dark" and "what's for dinner?"