For a while now — and if I’m honest, maybe for years — I’ve had this quiet fear that reality itself was dissolving.
Not just politics.
Not just culture.
But reality.
Truth.
I would look at the world and see people living in completely different versions of truth. Different beliefs. Different moral codes. Different interpretations of the same events.
And I started to wonder…
If everyone has their own reality, does truth even mean anything anymore?
There were moments where it felt like the fabric underneath everything was thinning. Like the ground I thought was solid wasn’t as solid as I believed.
And that feeling? It’s unsettling.
And this is from someone who has questioned and changed many of my own beliefs.
I frankly didn’t think the “truth” was associated with a belief.
At first I thought the universe was asking me and the world to expand our minds and accept different viewpoints. But that wasn’t satisfying me. Because sometimes, it felt like we weren’t even standing on the same historical ground.
From a very spiritual person I am all into our own reality up to a certain extent. But, this seemed to be far over the edge.
Sometimes answers don’t come to you when you want them to.
Sometimes it takes years.
Maybe it’s because our minds cannot process certain things at the time.
So I searched again for some answers and found some interesting ways to look at the concept of Truth.
There are many layers of truth.
Physical / Material Truth
Social / Constructed Truth
Interpretive Truth
Psychological / Subjective Truth
Moral / Value Truth
That’s when I realized something important.
Maybe reality itself isn’t dissolving.
Maybe I’ve been confusing different layers of it.
Physical reality exists. Gravity still works. Human bodies still breathe and age and function.
But social norms evolve. Language evolves. Cultural interpretations shift. Moral frameworks expand.
Facts can be tested.
Interpretations can differ.
Values can be negotiated.
Truth doesn’t disappear just because interpretation isn’t uniform.
In fact, truth becomes layered.
So how do we cope when the world seems out of control?
When it’s too big for us to have an impact?
Because trying to correct everyone’s beliefs is exhausting. It’s impossible. And if I’m honest, it hasn’t brought me peace.
So how can we cope and take care of ourselves at the same time?
When we are so exhausted and can’t handle the world anymore, what can we do to get some relief?
I recently came across someone speaking about how to survive in times of upheaval. She said something simple but powerful: the first thing you change isn’t the world — it’s your own mind.
Not in denial. Not in avoidance. But in how you frame what you’re living through.
That landed with me.
Because there are plenty of examples in history where marginalized people have gone through the same thing over and over throughout hundreds of years and have not been able to stop it. Let’s face it. We can do all we can and never have an effect.
So self care and knowing who you are and your strengths and gifts completely help you to center yourself and get through difficult times such as these.
They keep you grounded — physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and even at the level of your nervous system.
What has brought peace to myself is strengthening my own footing.
When I focus on my own lens — how I interpret, how I react, how I show up — the vertigo settles.
Maybe this time in history isn’t asking us to abandon truth.
Maybe it’s asking us to grow our capacity to hold complexity without panic.
Maybe expansion doesn’t mean collapse.
Maybe it means maturity.
The world may be shifting.
But steadiness is still available.
And maybe the real work isn’t controlling collective reality — but deepening our own.
So I’ll leave you with this:
When the world feels unstable, what helps you find your footing?
Take a breath.
You’re not alone in asking these questions.
Write back and tell me your answer — or share your experience,
While I can’t reply to everyone, I do read every response and genuinely love hearing from you.
Your story might even be featured in an upcoming letter.
That’s all for this week.
See you on the flip side.
~ Michele O’Donnell