March To Sanity

This post was written in March, and should have been "published" at that time. Naturally, it was far more timely back during March Madness, and while the current events mentioned were... well, current.  People are still crazy though, and this is worth reading  😎  :

March To Sanity

Times have gotten rather strange of late.

The level of absurdity has reached dream levels.

One only has to watch a guy dragged off an overbooked flight

Interspersed with truly inexplicable press conferences

With the offering of a Pepsi, becoming our thin hope for salvation...

Yeah. ;-)

While I rather like basketball, I never really got into College Ball.

Truth is, I barely have enough time to watch the pros,

And the phrase "March Madness" always bothered me.

I rather like March...

But I don't much care for Insanity,

If we're being honest.

I understand the hyperbole.

I get that it is supposed to be fun.
Wild & Crazy have become glued together like Peanut Butter & Chocolate...
and who doesn't want to break out of "normalcy?"

Still.

Sanity is what everyone needs.

Desperately.

The truth is that normalcy is insane. Madness is not a break from normalcy; normalcy is madness. It has been for a looong time. Since before the word even existed. Since before time was even a thing.

The overwhelming majority of people are crazy, and I can say this with certainty... because I have a very high bar for what I consider sane.  Basically, unless you have achieved a moderate level of self-mastery, you are broken in some way.  If you haven't mastered your mind... you are mentally ill.

Neuroses... sufferings of a bewildering variety. A vast array of disconnects and denials.  In truth, you are bound to be lousy with them, if you don't know how to master your mind.

Naturally, there is a spectrum of madness.

Not everyone has to gibber to themselves maniacally, or have a social circle of predominantly "invisible friends" to be a nutcase. 

I posit that any belief in illusion is a break from reality... a type of schizophrenia perhaps.

I am not writing this to make anyone feel bad. In a place where nearly everyone is nuts, being broken is par for the course. 

The question is really... do you want to be sane?

Most people would be surprised at their true and honest answer to that question,  People think they want to be whole, before the magnitude and magnificence of that prospect actually settles in.  At some point, though, it becomes obvious that one's entire sense of self is at risk. People claim to want to be more, but generally are not actually willing or ready to prepare for more... let alone let go of all the garbage that this entails.

The truth is that most worldviews can not survive becoming whole. 

That said, being sane is its own reward.  Often it is costly to those who treasure delusion, but there is zero upside in remaining delusional.  Any seeming to the contrary is part of the delusion.

I'm not going to belabor this point.  It makes no difference actually.  If someone is intent on being crazy, nothing can stop them. 

The decision to become whole is a commitment that usually isn't reached until one is thoroughly fed up with the status quo.  You have to reach your wits end... before you will admit defeat. 

The first and most important step:  Admitting that you are broken.  Not deflecting, justifying, qualifying or otherwise ditching responsibility. Simply a recognition that your ego is a fragment of a splintered mind.
  

Stark honesty is what it takes... and a willingness to be still.  Still enough to hear an authentic call from deep within.  When you hear this, and feel it boiling up in you, you are nearly home.

At this point, lay down your arms and surrender.  That is it.

You can't even practice this. Any idea that you need something before you can go for it...is an insane idea.

Sanity is your default state.  You have to try very hard to remain insane.  Just stop doing that, and your mind will repair itself.

I am not surprised when people aren't thrilled to hear this.   Well, perhaps they are thrilled... into inaction.  Paralyzed with ebullience.

The truth is that the only people in this nuthouse we call home that aren't mad, are the masters.  And, they are so few and far between that you are lucky to even know of one.  Worse still, you are so crazy that you wouldn't recognize them even if they were sitting next to you on the bus.  Most of you would feel an overpowering urge to be anywhere other than next to a real master. 

This is because they highlight your insanity by giving you something to compare it to.  You don't feel crazy until you stand near a truly sane person... for much the same reason that no one in a dark cave thinks it is dark until someone lights a candle.  And then... the sudden polarity shift seems threatening... painful even.  Ironically, people feel more blind, momentarily, before their sad, darkened eyes can adjust to the light.

Thankfully, you don't need to find a master. 

You need to become one.

Masters rarely teach others, and the people you have heard of who attract followers by claiming to be masters, are rarely masters.  Those people are performers (gurus, shaman, cult leaders, charismatic personalities etc.) who have made a profession out of stroking your illusions, prodding them, and maybe giving you a few hints on the sly. These people can be masters, and many of them have met (or at least heard about) real masters... but true masters rarely bother with this pursuit.

For the same reason that professors of rocket science rarely teach pre-school. And, professional rocket scientists generally don't even profess.

If they know how to build rockets, then they are usually busy with... building rockets.  Babysitting a bunch of dumbasses obsessed with nonsense doesn't serve their purpose. It is simply not an efficient use of their time and energy.

If you are lucky, they may say something inspiring to you, in the hopes that you decide to become a rocket scientist when you grow up. These sayings usually get mangled, and turned into bumper stickers... or worse, internet memes.

There is no point in trying to disavow crazy people of their crazy notions.  Even if you succeed, they will simply create, or latch onto, some other insane worldviews that will reify their lives.

Also, anyone who really wants to master themselves already has all the tools they need.  Nobody needs to teach rose seeds to make roses.

All that needs to be done is to place your seed (what you think of as your reality) into fertile soil, intend that your egg not inhibit you in your unfolding... and be willing to let it crack open, so you can emerge.