It seems bizarre to me to think about W. H. Auden's benzedrine addiction, and how he called his life, 'The chemical life'. I mean to call it such a thing suggests that his life was not real, and not how life should be. But what is real? Chemicals may impair us, and differ our views on the world, but to say this is incorrect seems to almost suggest that the life we see is not real; at least not true anyway. Our brain runs on chemicals, so changing its balance doesn't seem incorrect to me, it simply means we interpret everything differently.
They say no two people can see the exact same colour. So if everyones view of the world is different then who is right? Does anyone see it for its true form?
Sometimes I feel like i'm watching telly. The edges of my vision become clearer like the edges of a screen. I'd love to get out of my body, and see the world for what it truly is. The world outside our own.
Auden frowned upon hallucinogens, which I always find slightly comical. Strictly speaking hallucinogens do not create hallucinations, but mere modification of regular perception. (Hallucinations are perceptions that have no basis on reality.) So if a simple chemical can alter your perception of reality surely it is impossible to truly believe that what we see is the real world.
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