The False Dichotomy of Reality or (What I Thought About Today)

Today is Monday. I spent the hours of 7am-9am in staff meeting. (For Steamtown Church) Then I went home and prayed for two hours. It was refreshing. I read the story of the fall of Jerusalem in the book of Jeremiah and it was moving. Then I continued my singing (yes I sing to myself) and praying through the Psalms. The Psalms are divided into several books. Right now I am going through Book One. Most of the Psalms are written by David, King of Israel. And the Psalms are composed in such way as to function collectively. Each Psalms plays off the themes of the preceding Psalms. It's like a huge concept album, the individual psalms functioning like songs in an album, but also with a holistic form. It's quite the spiritual experience.
I got on the bus when I was finished with my spiritual exercise. All that I experienced was negativity and complaining. This attitude pervades the social atmosphere of Scranton, where I reside, a town which I love, a town which I serve in the name of redemption. The contrast was stark between my past spiritual exercise and this 10 minute bus ride. By the time I got off the bus, nearly all of the positivity was sucked out of me. All this to say that an atmosphere is a powerful thing.
I find that human beings are embarrassingly susceptible to becoming their culture. Loaded statement I know, but think about how hard it is to "be yourself" (whatever that means.) In fact some people are so inundated into the culture or subculture they find themselves in that they do not know and cannot know their identity outside of the culture. However, I am not so sure that letting culture define us is so wrong. I am not even sure that's its possible to know yourself outside of the culture. Is there really a person in there, who is pure and untouched by experiences, or people, or worldview? Really I mean, who is the real you? And what makes you think that you are at any point, not the real you? If you do not know who you really are, at what point do you know when you're being real? Is the real me, the one who thinks life is great and God is good , or is the real me the one who thinks life stinks and God doesn't care. I suppose it depends on whether I'm at home or on a bus. Of course the real me doesn't depend on my context. The thing is there is no such thing as the fake me, just the real me, who is always whatever I am. In certain situations, the right attitude is difficult to maintain, but never impossible. I could be at home with a crappy attitude, and on that bus with an understanding that God is in control.
But at atmosphere is powerful. If one does not understand this, that one is susceptible to thinking however they feel is however it is. The key is not figuring out the real you, but what the "real" person would do in your situation. I will explain later. Keep it real.