NOTE: I found this in my files on my computer. This was never finished and is somewhat garbled but I will leave it as it is.
“Nothing ever becomes real until it is experienced.”
Keats’ statement could refer to a reality of existence or to the reality of personal experience. Having strong beliefs for the personal side of reality, I have chosen to adopt this view of the statement.
A child can be told a hundred times not to touch a flame because it will burn them. Quite often the child though will try to touch the flame just to test the truth. As we all know, the child will then be burnt and the reality of the flame will be placed in the mind of the child. Truth and reality go hand in hand and in seeking truth, a person finds reality.
If a tree falls over in a forest and there is no one around to listen, does it make a sound? A common enough question used to puzzle the mind. If there is no one listening then there is no proof that it makes a sound. On the other hand, if you stand beside a falling tree and you hear the sound of it falling, then the sound has become a reality. You can then say that if a tree falls over while you are in ear shot, then it does make a sound. For another person though, to tell them is to inform, but the only way to prove that it is real is for that person to also go out and stand beside a falling tree and hear it for themselves.
Experiencing something creates a reality. A proof of right or wrong might set a persons mind at ease. If you haven’t experienced something then how can you be sure that it is real/exists/happens? A trust in other people and their thoughts can only go so far, and even if you do trust others, it is not reality to be told about something. Second-hand information is to get a view on reality, but to find that reality for ones self is only possible through experience. Reality is to feel. Reality is when you witness something with your own senses.
For example, in this age of technology, art is being displayed on the Internet for people to see. To see an artwork reproduced on a screen is not experiencing the reality of the artwork, but it is experiencing a reproduction of reality. To see the same artwork on display in an art gallery is reality. To be able to walk up close, back away, see the brushstrokes, to stand in awe, is to feel reality. The aid of technology helps people to see a general idea of things, but it does not come close to letting people find reality.
Everyday life is reality. To experience waking up in the morning is to find the reality of waking up. To go about day-to-day things, or to go out and do something for the first time, a person experiences something from their own eyes.
One persons reality is different from the next persons. To find a personal reality, first-hand experience is necessary so as to witness something from a personal point of view. Each and every persons individual point of few is just that, individual. No two views are exactly alike. When one person might see a horse, another may see a powerful, beautiful, animal. Each person must experience reality by themselves.