Tyranny of Fantasy

Today, I will open my conversation with Noel Fielding's quote: 

"Reality depresses me, and I need to find fantasy worlds to escape them."

We are all in this one or the other day. The real thing makes us mad and overwhelms us. Many times, we find it hard to take and feel we are on the verge of breaking down. Am I right or not?

Let me emphasize this with an example. I remember my school days when we had to read a whole book for exams. It was really tiring and stressful. At times, I used to feel that the lives of dogs and cats were much better than mine because they did not have to study. I used to wish I was born like them during my exams. This was my way of running away from reality by fantasizing about my world. So, all the while, I was dreaming of being a dog, which gave me much relaxation over the overwhelming stress that was pressing on me. The main illusion of all these voluntary fantasies is that we are in control of the external event. I think Richard Ricks words capture these emotions quite well.

"I want to escape reality.

Reality keeps me from achieving my dreams.

I want a life I have never explored before.

The world I want is somewhere else.

I want a world that reality cannot hold back."

Richard Ricks

Yes, I wanted a life that was unique and full of fun and happiness. My world was definitely in this place; it was far away from all these subjugating forces that brought nervousness, stole our nights sleep, crushed our strengths to achieve, and made us sick. Yes, I want this world where the power of reality gets crippled by stealing away my dreams and desires. Ernest Cline pores out the very same emotions as he utters these words: 

"I'd spend my entire life overdosing on uncut escapism, willingly allowing fantasy to become my reality."

None of us can say we never fantasize or dream. Fantasy is an integral element in our lives. I will pause here for a while to capture the essence of Dr. Seuss's wisdom, which says that: 

"Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it is a way of looking at life through the wrong end of the telescope." 

These lines help me to stress my thoughts better. Reality is also seeing life as full of challenges and no rest, which brings us to the verge of breakdown. On the other hand, I fantasize about my life and then try to make it real in this world. So I have taken backward steps, where I first dream of the outcome and then think of carving the pathway to achieve it. In this process, I first get deeply immersed in it and then find ways to make it real in my life. My interest, motivation, and dedication push many of my fantasies into reality without overloading me with stress. Lord Alexander rightly puts them here:

"Fantasy is hardly a way of escaping from reality. It's a way of understanding it."

We understand our world in a less stressful state and then make our best plans to achieve it. If we are using fantasy in this form, just as the children use it, it is construction, but this is not always the case. We, as adults, often use fantasies to put our backs on reality. We hide in fantasies, ignoring the real me, the incapable me, and the inconvenient me. I remember one of my school days when a poem eloquetion was organized. Preliminary selection was done on the basis of our poem recitation in front of the class. My friends were quite good in their presentations. I also gave it a try, but in the middle, I forgot. I still remember my friends on the first row saying, 

"See, you did not do well. We are not saying that you cannot do it, but for this poem recitation, others were better than you."

Yes, before beginning my recitation, I did fatasize present very well and to show everybody that I am also good. I wanted to be in this illusion only after reciting, maybe by blaming the situation, circumstances, people, etc., but the words of my friends resonated. Yes, I was not able to meet the criteria well, and I should accept this defeat and work on it to improve myself rather than holding my flag high and blaming others. This is just one example. I can give many, but I am thankful to my friends who helped me to not dwell in fantasy here; it's not the right place; rather, accept my weakness and work on it. 

I will close my discussion with a quote from J. R. R. Tolkien: 

"Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?...If we value freedom of mind and soul, if we are partisans of liberty, then it is our plain duty to escape and to take as many people with us as we can." 

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