What's Real & What's Fake?

I just finished Source Code and it really was a great movie. The premise is a little hackneyed - picture The Matrix meets Inception meets Groundhog Day - but what it lacked in originality it more than made up for in execution. Paced perfectly, acted well, and another stellar outing from Duncan Jones... following up on the terrific Moon. No spoilers here: the main character is forced to relive the same 8 minutes over again until he can figure out who bombed a Chicago Metra train. As the movie progresses, the familiar sci-fi theme of reality vs. fantasy comes up.

Is this reality I am in? Or just a dream? Or something else entirely?

It's similar to thoughts I have been having recently in my own life. The past three months have been the most eventful I can ever remember. Looking back, I continue to ask the question: what was real? And what was fake?

In my job, I worked harder than I ever have, putting up 75-hour work weeks to accomplish the event I have helped plan for two years now. The event went really well. Like, best-case-scenario well - so well that I'm still waiting for the other shoe to fall. Basking in the glory of that moment (and now, continuing to live in it as the rest of the world moves on), I wonder what was real. Was it the agonizing and often-frustrating hours of preparation? Or was it the joy of seeing everything come to fruition - in essence, realizing it was all worth it? With both of those periods in the past now, I look back at it all and can't help but smile.

In my personal life, I too experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows. I started to see a new rhythm of life become unveiled as a new relationship blossomed. Then, I crashed back to earth: returning to the old familiar rhythm I had known all too well. It really was quite the roller coaster ride. Looking back, I ask again: what was real and what was fake? Was I simply fooling myself into believing this "new" reality, while all along I was still plugged into that machine - my body still existing in the "real world" while my mind wandered?

These are thoughts of evaluation. I am always seeking evaluation. What worked and what didn't? How can I do better? What do I need to know moving forward? And what steps do I need to take to get to the next level? Understanding all of that and evaluating the last months, I lean more toward the perspective that everything was real. I truly believe emotion is real and should be embraced, not discarded. If you feel it, it's real. No need to question it. Even though the low times sucked, they were necessary. To borrow a cliched statement: "the shadow proves the sunshine."

The next steps are crucial. Following evaluation, action must be taken. What was learned from this in order to improve the future? I think I know, at least to some extent, and I'm ready for the next chapter. Whatever that may be.

And, more than ever, God proves faithful. Just like always.

We are soooooooooo blessed.