The Transfiguration of Reality

I’ve often found that admitting to a “subjective reality” feels like conceding defeat—as though we are doomed to nothing more than our own limited perception of an objective world. But that isn’t the full truth.

Take something simple: I only like chocolate ice cream. If I say, “I will forever only like chocolate,” I’m declaring a fixed destiny. But in reality, both my taste and the world around me exist only in the present. Objective reality is not “forever”—it is always now.

The same is true of perception. Because our subjection to reality exists objectively, it is bound by the same law of the present. That means the future is not predetermined but a field of limitless potential. So the truest statement is not “I will always like chocolate,” but “I only like chocolate right now.” By choosing to summon forth the goodness of vanilla in the next moment, I may learn to delight in vanilla too.

This means we are not passengers but drivers in experience. At the level of body and soul—and even more so in spirit—we have the freedom to transfigure the world around us. By constantly seeking the goodness in all things, we participate in the renewal of creation.

And by what method is this best accomplished? Prayer. Through prayer, we approach the Giver of all good things directly, by His grace.

So, objective reality remains, yet it is also subject to our interpretation. In this way, our spiritual inclination—if we so choose—can surpass our fleshly reactions. What we often call “subjective” is not mere limitation, but the very space where true freedom is found: in choosing to see through the Spirit rather than the flesh.