This is my new attitude about life: Reality is a Jar of Almonds! Now I recognize that, on the surface of things, this assertion makes no sense, which would probably be sufficient in and of itself to explain life, but I do have an explanation. The explanation is rooted in logical fallacies, mindfulness, and Whose Line is it Anyway?.
So here we go. I have a tendency toward assuming that when I look at a situation I can explain it in one of two ways, or maybe three ways (usually somewhere in between), and that one of those ways must be correct. This type of thinking employs one, or two, logical fallacies. When I assume that there are only two options, I'm engaging in the "black or white" fallacy (aka false dilemma or false dichotomy). If I allow for a third option that is somewhere in between, I am undoubtedly falling prey to the "middle ground" fallacy.
The truth of the matter is that reality is so much more complex than I can imagine. This is where mindfulness comes into the picture. In the book Mindfulness of Beginners by Jon Kabat-Zinn that I have (partially) read, the author states,
We can feel victimized by our thoughts, or blinded by them. We can easily mis-take [sic] them for the truth or for reality when in actuality they are just waves on its surface, however tumultuous they may be at times. (p. 36)
When looking at a problem or situation, there are undoubtedly factors that I have not taken into consideration at all that were actually contributing to whatever it is that I'm trying to understand. I can't know it all, so I can't consider it all, therefore I will never fully understand the thing that I wish to understand. This is a fact that I need to learn to deal with, but it's not easy.
So how does this bring me to the assertion that reality is, in fact, a jar of almonds? Well, that is where Whose Line is it Anyway? comes into the story. There was an episode of the show where they were improvising a game of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. Brad Sherwood, in the role of quiz-master, asks Ryan Stiles a question, followed by four possible answers, in Who Wants to be a Millionaire? fashion. But he then suggest that Ryan can go off the board and choose option E - a jar of almonds.
So when I am trying to remind myself that I don't have all the information and my hypothetical explanations don't cover all the options, my new shorthand is to simply remind myself that reality is a jar of almonds - that alternate explanation that I never even thought of.
