EXPOSE | The problem with leaving reality
“People have learned to escape Reality very well but too often lose their way back.” — Eugene J. Martin, visual artist
EXPLORE | Should we be looking for an escape?
Harry’s first escape was leaving Budapest for America with his parents when he was four. Born Enrich Weiss, you could also say he ‘escaped’ his name.
It was as a teenager, in the 1890s, that Harry Houdini began performing in vaudeville acts surprising crowds with his ability to escape handcuffs and sealed trunks. But it wasn’t until 1908 that he would make his “theatrical debut” on a stage in St. Louis.
The crowd witnessed Harry squeeze into a water-filled canister, whose lid was closed and padlocked from the outside with 6 locks. Of course, his escape was concealed by a cabinet wheeled on stage after he entered the can.
Two minutes later, he walked out from behind the cabinet—with the canister still padlocked. The Smithsonian magazine stated that “During his lifetime, nobody ever managed to figure out how he had escaped.”
Even to this day, when a person makes a daring and seemingly impossible ‘escape’ we refer to them as pulling a “Houdini.”
It turns out that Houdini was not just a magician, but as the Smithsonian magazine describes him, was an “ingenious inventor, actor, businessman, and more”, all of which enabled him to create—and pull off—the most elaborate “magic” of his time.
Of course, it was all an illusion. Much like our attempt to try and escape reality.
I understand the desire to want bad things to go away. But we can’t actually stop them from happening or make them go away.
Life doesn’t come with an escape button. We can’t back our way out of an unwanted issue like we can an unwanted window or document on our computers.
The American Psychological Association defines ‘escape from reality’ as “a defensive reaction involving the use of fantasy as a means of avoiding conflicts and problems of daily living.” This differs, but only slightly, from the ‘flight from reality’, which is “a defensive reaction involving withdrawal into inactivity, detachment, or fantasy as an unconscious defense against anxiety-provoking situations.”
The tension between “fight or flight” truly is the battlefield of our minds.
Instead, rather than choose either, we try splitting the difference by just ‘augmenting our reality.’ Remember Pokemon Go? You might think that fad has come and gone. Not so. While it now only boasts less than a third of the use from when it was in most popular, it is still a big part of people’s lives. According to one source, “around 9 million people play Pokemon Go every day.”
What can start out as something innocent or logically defendable can end up subverting the underlying issues that are causing us to seek relief from reality in the first place.
Wanting to escape reality is understandable. Everything from stress and anxiety, emotional and physical pain, curiosity, or even just boredom can soon have us smashing the imaginary escape button believing we can avoid real or imagined problems. This of course can lead us to eventually rationalize potentially destructive behaviors, which, as Eugene Martin pointed out, makes it a real possibility that we’ll “end up losing our way back.”
EXECUTE | Fighting the lure of escapism
Fortunately for us, Jon Bloom reminds us, “Jesus has come to set us free from fantasy’s impoverishing enchantment.” Rather than look for the ‘escape button’, we can respond properly when we’re tempted by the lure of the illusion of escaping by remaining grounded in reality.
Hold fast to reality
God’s Word provides a great deal of guidance on how we are to think which will help us stay focused on what is real. Here is a practical application of several key verses:
- Ask and allow God to direct our minds toward (Phil. 4:8): “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable,” what is excellent, and what is praise-worthy.
- What should we be doing with our bodies? We were purchased at a great price, so we should honor God with our body (1 Cor. 6:18-19).
- We have been set apart to be a living example of God’s transformation of our lives. That ongoing proclamation of transformation will mean facing reality head-on (1 Pet. 2:9).
- The renewing of our minds requires testing. Facing reality will allow us to “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2).
- “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4–5).
- Reality is God fulfilling His promise to provide us with abundant life (John 10:10).
Believing these truths—really believing them—will be the foundation for breaking free from “fantasy’s enchantment”.
Choose a real activity with real benefits
Choosing to escape reality is of no benefit to us. Rather, pick from one of these areas to properly relax, recharge, and gain a fresh perspective:
- Creative. Not that what you’d create would be put on display or that you would become prolific, but any writing, drawing, painting, or music you produce can provide a subconscious retreat that will allow you to “return to reality” in a better state of mind.
- Physical. Get up, get out, get moving. A walk, run, swim, or bike ride as we know will work wonders for our physical and mental well-being. Even better, help someone. I like what NyRee Ausler says in her article, 20 Ways to Escape Reality: “being of service to other people is… therapeutic…”
- Social. Spending time with friends and family can lower anxiety, help us think critically, and feel loved. Not to mention, you would be focusing on someone else rather than yourself.
- Read. Reading is a great way to gain a new perspective. I mentioned the verses earlier, but reading more about what you’re dealing with can arm you with new and improved ways to address it.
You could say these are like choosing reality to help you with reality.
Location, location, location
Get outside. Leah Borski, in her article, 21 Simple Pleasures to Enlighten a Gloomy Day, puts it this way: “The simple state of being outdoors triggers a neural bath of happy hormones.” I don’t like to take baths, but that does sound very inviting.
I was reading about cholesterol recently and one observation I made was the impact of sitting for long periods of time has on our bodies. The recommendation was to get up for 5 minutes after sitting for 30 minutes, and ideally, do some physical activity. While working from home makes it a little easier, getting outside is one of the better ways we can leverage those 5 minutes.
Look at your whole life
When things are hard, we tend to only see those things and lose sight of the good that is also part of our lives. Be sure to challenge yourself to look at your whole life when wanting to escape your current reality. No doubt there will be many things to be thankful for, which will help you balance the view of what you’re currently facing.
Escaping reality is not only impossible but trying to do so only creates an impossible reality—a fantasy will never be real. We can fight the lure of this illusion by remaining grounded in reality. God promises that facing reality is not without purpose, value, or hope. Indeed, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…” (2 Pet. 1:3) allowing us to choose fight over flight.
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Further reading:
Breaking free from the spell of fantasy
The evangelical drug of choice
Simple pleasures
20 ways to escape reality
Escape Artist Harry Houdini Was an Ingenious Inventor, He Just Didn’t Want Anybody to Know
Flight from reality
Escape from reality
Photo by 🇻🇪 Jose G. Ortega Castro 🇲🇽 on Unsplash