by Daniel Kraus

Created on: June 25, 2008   Last Updated: June 26, 2008

Perception is the precursor to consciousness. Without perception, or the ability to recognize ourselves, we could not be conscious of ourselves, our lives, or our thoughts. Life is a strange, confusing, exhilarating and amazing experience. You may be a person who believes that a supreme being has created you in its image. Or you may believe that we are here due to chemical and biological processes that gave rise to life over billions of years. The reason we are here is not the most important part of existence.

It is interesting, and exciting to talk about and debate, however realizing you can choose, change, develop and create anything your will, or soul decides is far more important. It is powerful. Think about it. We have the ability to create absolutely anything we think. We create tangible objects and materials out of thin air, our ideas. Someone, at some point, thought of rounding a block of stone to make it easier to move. And then they did it, inventing the wheel. A thought, non-tangible, has been conceived and implemented in the physical world. Our perception is what has given us everything in this life, both good and bad.

The meaning of life is merely the representation of what an individual perceives in his or her life at any given moment. Our perception changes throughout our lives. Therefore our perception of the meaning of our lives will also change. If you believe the meaning of life is always the same, then, logically speaking, you are stating that your perception never changes, which is a false statement.

Here is a simplified example. When I was a kid, I thought that santa clause was a real person. As I got older, my perception changed and I realized that santa clause is an idea perceived by humans through which we bestow good will and kindness to all who will receive it. This is a very simple explanation, so I will give another. Read a poem that you read 10 years ago, and see if you still understand and perceive the message the same way. Odds are that your interpretation of the poem will be different, at least slightly, than it was 10 years ago. This is due to the fact that we change and grow based on our decisions and experiences which are in turn based on our perceptions of life.

Perception also dictates our morals and ethics. If you are a person that believes in a religion, whether it be Christianity, Buddhism , Islam, or any other, you perceive the teachings of that faith to be true. If you do not believe in a higher power or religion, your perception has led you to not believe. Neither of these perceptions are right or wrong. They are simply different ways of experiencing the world and our own personal existence. In my opinion, perception is at the core of everything we do, create, think and act upon. We exist because we perceive that we exist, no other reason.

Existence is a wonderful gift. Whether a higher power gave it to us, or if it was by sheer chance, it is beautiful and precious. We have a responsibility to ourselves, our gods, and our universe to figure out how to perceive this gift. We have a multitude of answers, reasons, theories and thoughts to explain perception and existence. This makes it even more exciting and, quite frankly, frustrating at times. We may never have a concrete answer, and that is acceptable. Because if our perceptions did not differ, we would not have all of the fantastic ideas and theories that have led us here.

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