Perception Can Become Greater Than Reality

[Music]

uh

y’all know what i just did there

did y’all know what i just did

nobody caught that

what did i just do

i stepped off the red circle

to some of y’all that may seem like

that’s not a big deal

some people just said you just simply

moved outside of that red circle

some people said you just took one step

but it can be a whole lot more profound

than that just taking one step

before i get to that let me give an

example there’s this movie out there by

a guy named m nightshield i don’t know

if you guys ever seen it’s called the

village

in this move the village

these people in this village was told a

certain type of stories

they were told

to live by certain kind of rules

they said if you stay within these rules

you are going to be safe

if you do what we say you will remain

safe you will not be punished for

sticking by these rules

so they came up with these stories about

these certain kind of creatures

that if they do break the rules or if

they go beyond the boundaries of what

they were told to

they would be punished by these

creatures

i had the same kind of experience

and in this movie

there was a girl

in the movie

she went beyond what she was supposed to

she went beyond the village she went

beyond the walls

and when she got over the wall she

realized something she was in modern

world and if you have not seen a movie

they were pretty much living like

pilgrims if you haven’t seen a movie the

village

they were cut off by these boundaries

that they were not supposed to go

outside of right but she went outside of

those boundaries

turns out

she was blind

she was blind the whole time in the

movie she was blind

you say well what’s the significance of

that

this same type of thing can be happening

to us and we don’t even know it

take me for example

grew up in chicago some lived down in an

area in illinois called decatur illinois

while living there

i was told

these same kind of stories

i was told that

the type of life that i was supposed to

have i need to stay within these certain

type of boundaries

if i step outside these boundaries

there’s no place for people like me

outside those boundaries

i was told that if you go and step

outside these boundaries there’s going

to be some type of danger there

there’s going to be something there

there’s going to be an evil force

there’s going to be something that’s

going to hate you there’s going to be

something that is not going to like you

it’s intimidating

folks like you don’t have no place

outside that so it’s safer

here

it’s safer being with the rest of us

now

those rules

those stories were they there

to protect me

or could it be

were those rules there

to actually limit me

i had some cousins

that they always tell me these same type

of stories like i just told you guys

about the village

i was told that

there’s these type of creatures that

hang out in the basement right

that and they come out at night time

this is this a series

came out at night time right

and what would happen is this

where i live the only way to get to the

kitchen

to get something to drink was to go past

this basement door

and when i walked past this basement

door

it was just complete darkness down there

and they would always say if you go down

at nighttime these creatures these

things they will come out and they can

get you

i used to get all the way down there

to the to the main floor walk towards

the kitchen and there was that door

right there i would freeze

sit there scared to death start shaking

sweating

okay i guess i don’t need no water i

would go right back upstairs lay down

so thirsty

it had gotten to the point where this

was a repetitive thing at least three

four times a month i would go down the

stairs so thursday throw dry i just want

to get something to drink but then if i

go past that door something’s gonna

reach his hand and snatch me and pull me

down in the basement

one time

i couldn’t take it anymore

i walked down those stairs

got to that basement door

just like this carpet

i went downstairs in that basement

completely dark hands on the side of the

wall walking down there everything you

can think of in a horror movie what’s

happening the stairs is quick

going down these stairs

i get down those stairs touch that cold

basement floor barefooted

and i sat there

heart rate

sweating

okay i’m waiting for the heck of my

chickens to get me

they’re gonna get me okay

next thing though

heart rate started slowing down

heart rate started slowing down

started breathing better my eyes started

adjusting to the darkness

guess what happened to me

did anybody know what happened to me

obviously i’m here

they didn’t get me

there was nothing there

there was absolutely nothing there

what does that all mean

all because

i believed

in something that they told me

all because i believed in these stories

that they told me

they became engrafted

in me it became engrafted in my mind it

became engrafted in my brain i believed

those stories i believed them so much

that my body reacted as if they were

true

every time i walked to that darn floor

to get to that refrigerator try to get

something to drink

i thought that if i walked past there

something would get me i believed it

that much

but do you know what kept me from

getting to my goal

what kept me from getting to the

refrigerator

what kept me from getting what kept me

from quenching my thirst

was it the stories that they told me

you can say that yes but ultimately what

kept me from getting there was fear

fear kept me from getting to my goal

fear kept me from getting to the place

where i wanted to go all because i

believed in these stories that they told

me

so

here it is

coming from areas that i lived in

projects the ghetto these stories that i

was told that someone that looks like me

don’t go outside these walls because

there’s going to be a force there that’s

going to limit somebody that looks just

like you there’s going to be a evil

there that’s going to keep you bound

there’s going to be evil that if you

step outside these walls right here

trust me

it’s going to get you

guess what i decided to do

i’ll reflect it back onto those stories

my cousins told me about the

hickomachica that was in the basement

hmm let me go try this thing out

i stepped outside

of the walls that were planted there

i stepped outside that belief system

that was said to me that if you go

outside these walls there’s going to be

a force there that’s going to limit you

found myself

going to college

check

people like me

you don’t get told you go to college if

you go to college there’s going to be a

force that’s going to keep you from

going you will not be able to be

successful no because there’s going to

be a force there there’s going to be an

either to keep you from going

found myself

married where i come from

unheard of

check

found myself with two sons raised them

19 to 17 years old

married to my wife still with my family

unheard of

these beliefs that can be placed in us

can be so strong that you have no idea

that you’ve been living your life to

simply perceive

perception can become greater than

reality

i was taught to perceive

that these monsters existed

i was taught to perceive

that if i step outside these walls

there was going to be something there

for me i was taught to perceive

that if i tried to get to the

refrigerator machine was going to get me

when the reality kicked in

it was not there

it did not exist

and once i found out that those things

did not exist

there was no stopping me

nothing could stop me from getting to my

goal now so now every time somebody

comes up and tell me a story

that they feel might be somewhat

protection

to me somewhat protective of me

i question it are they trying to protect

me

or could it be that it’s a possibility

they can be limiting me

just like this little rug right here

they say stay within that rug it’s best

for you stay within that rug because

that’s what everybody does stay within

this rock right here because that’s

where you’re going to get the best shots

was but you telling me i don’t look good

right here either

get back inside that rug ty stay within

those boundaries ladies and gentlemen

all of us in here

some shape form of fashion

have been told

some sort of story like i have right now

if you can reflect back and think about

anything that you’ve been told in your

life

through your family through your friends

that they tell us so much they tell us

so strongly it has to be for real but

have any of you actually been courageous

enough to go outside those boundaries to

see if they are indeed real

are you possibly sitting here right now

stuck

in your mental village

are you possibly sitting here right now

stuck

because some type of ideology or way

that you were taught to think and feel

about something

you still think that way right now you

still feel that way right now without

ever knowing

if it is indeed

real

a lot of people have lived their life

based on nothing more than perception

years down the road

living their lives based on perception

thinking that that is reality when it

all turns out it is indeed not

i have a saying that i say all the time

i’m going to leave you guys with this

it’s simple

and it’s my quote so somebody still i’m

copyrighting them

i say this all the time

do not

listen to this closely because a lot of

us do it we do it to our children we do

it to our friends we do it to our family

do not

place your limits

on me

based off of what you

are incapable of achieving because we do

that a lot somebody wants to do

something i wouldn’t do that if i was

you because it’s too hard oh i wouldn’t

do that biology because we let’s no

longer do that anymore

do not remember this do not

place your limits on me

based off of what you are incapable of

achieving

ladies and gentlemen thank you very much

[Music]