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What is Real?

What is Real?

The HBO series, “Westworld,” is a tough to watch show about a futuristic park; sort of a perverted Disneyland for rich adults.

It offers people a chance to live out their worst fantasies with “hosts,” who are human-like and life-like robots.

As you can imagine things go horribly wrong. You can’t create an environment of no consequences no matter what awful things you do, without disastrous results. Even if you do them with and to robots.

We were created with a conscience, the ability to self-limit our actions, if we know they will harm or destroy others. This is an essential part of our humanity.

In Westworld, those innate boundaries are eliminated.

In one insightful scene, Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright) the programming director of Westworld, is talking privately with one of the beautiful hosts, Delores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood).  Delores is becoming confused. She questions her purpose. She’s having disturbing dreams she doesn’t understand.

In the scene she tells Bernard about them.

Bernard: “Dreams don’t mean anything, Delores. They’re just noise. They’re not real.”

Delores asks, “What is real?”
Bernard replies, “That which is irreplaceable.”

Aren’t we there now? It’s not our dreams. It’s not wealth. It’s not the “things” we own. It’s not fulfilling  all our desires. It’s not outward beauty that matters now. It’s life. It’s health. It’s breathing. It’s having our loved ones near.

These are irreplaceable. And so are these:

Felling safe, irreplaceable.
Taking deep breaths, irreplaceable.
Hugging and kissing our loved ones, irreplaceable.
Being healthy, irreplaceable.
Never being on a respirator, irreplaceable.
Having a job, irreplaceable.
Not worrying about paying bills, irreplaceable.
Walking into stores without fearing getting ill, irreplaceable.
Having family with us when we die, irreplaceable.

We are learning, in this deep fog, what has it’s highest meaning. Many things we have perhaps taken for granted, but now realize how diminished life is without them.

We are being reduced to what is indispensable to authentic living and it’s forcing us to rethink our values.

When this is all over, I hope I never forget what is irreplaceable. Because that’s all that is real.

(c) 2020 Timothy Moody
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