If we are to try to understand reality, the first step is simply to ask "why should we?"
This is an often overlooked initial question that many simply do not take the time to ask of themselves before embarking on long journeys. And yet it's a very important question. During my long study in martial arts, I often ask folks "why did you start studying?" and "Why are you studying it now?" Occasionally I'd run across someone who said they wanted to learn self defense, but they actually signed up at a class that focused on sport competitions. While many of the lessons overlap, learning a sport, complete with rules and proper conduct is not the best training arena for learning about a situation where none of that exists. When a true self defense situation occurs, they may find their preconceived notions quite ill-prepared for the reality of things. In martial arts, knowing what we truly want out of it helps guide us to the proper sources of education.
And that is a huge hint to WHY we should try to understand Reality.
Imagine a situation where your world literally falls apart and shows itself to be quite different from what you thought it was. For example: