While she was getting ready for work this morning she heard a few tidbits and "sound bites" on CBC Radio One about the grand - and, yes, just a wee bit "royal" - time thousands of her fellow Canadians had yesterday celebrating July 1st on Parliament Hill.
And, because it was Saturday morning, she also heard about some of the stimulating and enjoyable things there are to do in Ontario in the summer (thanks to Mary Ito on Fresh Air). The first guest she heard being interviewed by Mary was promoting "Culinary Tourism" in the province, while the second briefly outlined a couple of the fun - and possibly little known - Ontario outings listed on http://www.summerfunguide.ca/.
On her way home from work she stopped at her neighbourhood Loblaws where the interior temperature was 0H!-so-cool and where, of course, there was an abundance of foodstuffs to examine, to choose from, to buy and, ultimately, to consume.
And, it is right about here that what is "real" (in earthy, concrete terms) and what is "real for her" (in her water-logged being) reveals its disconnect because she can't, deep down, shake the feeling that every advantage we (still) enjoy as Canadians, and as North Americans, isn't entirely "real". In fact, to her our plenty feels like a facade that's getting thinner and thinner with time and eventually the fabric will tear and the "Truth" will be revealed.
(What this capital "T" truth is she isn't entirely sure.)
For argument's sake, let's take our abundance of food and food choices in our grocery stores, because this is an everyday situation that taps into her "unreal reality" the most frequently. How, (she feels in spite of the fact she is able to see, touch, buy and happily consume her share of this food on display) can it be 100% true that all this food, and all these choices, exist for us when so many people we share the same planet with have naught in the way of either? It feels like it just cannot be the Truth.
And, it isn't the burn of unfairness she feels in response to the vast inequality surrounding the distribution of food (health, education, etc.) across the planet. Of course there is that, but this feeling is both simpler and deeper than that which arises when she encounters a situation she considers to be unfair.
It's more like it feels impossible for this inequality to be the Truth of the matter and therefore, on some level, it feels like it simply is not the Truth. And, this translates into the literal feeling of "treading lightly" (of "non-attachment") as one naturally feels in the presence of a grand illustion.
She then goes further to feel like we are all being (perhaps blissfully, perhaps self-righteously) duped when we believe we actually possess this much (in this example, food and food choices) when so many other people sharing the same planet have little, to nothing.
It cannot be the Truth.
How can it be?
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On a lesser note:
A grocery aisle filled with breakfast cereal = An embarrassment of riches.
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