It is really not nice to call someone crazy. But what if they are? What exactly is crazy, and how easy is it to discern when you come up against one? Should you run away, far away, as quickly as possible, so as not to catch whatever it is that they have? Or should you start a conversation with them, because I can pretty much guarantee, if they are coherent, it may well be one of the most interesting and intriguing discussions that you may ever have in your life.

By definition, they say crazy is mentally deranged. That really doesn’t sound very good. Of course, they don’t say what they are comparing it to. They also define it as impractical. That is much better. Sounds like they could be an optimist with a unique take on an issue. How about intensely enthusiastic or passionately excited. Every company I ever worked for wanted that. As long as it pertained to what their goals were. Infatuated. Anxious. Impatient. Unusual. Singular. All of these things are considered crazy. Are they all correct? And, as always, from whose perspective? Whose ‘ reality ‘?

I am so glad that I took the time to look into the word. I believe that I can say with no hesitation, that I am most assuredly ‘ crazy ‘. By almost any definition. Pretty much on every count. And there are many more that they missed. I may be a little concerned about the deranged part, but isn’t being deranged just mean that you are put together like a unique puzzle, that maybe most people haven’t seen before, even if you had to force some of the pieces to fit? I can live with that. As a matter of fact, it brings me great pleasure when I realize that I am not like everyone else. From what I see, day in and day out, on our streets, in our media, and especially in our politics, I don’t see much that is NOT crazy from my perspective. And let’s not forget Hollywood. You can easily rename that to CrazyTown. Life is difficult enough with my own challenges of discovery and improvement. It is difficult to describe my feelings of disappointment and disbelief. As a child, I looked forward to a future filled with people of character and integrity that were working to make a world we would all be proud to be a part of. Why are so many individuals content with putting in the least amount of effort into being the best possible person that they could be? Everyone loves to use buzz words. They do love to use words. But I have repeated often, that words have power, and they have specific meanings, and they can not only be used for communication, but also as a weapon, causing pain, and suffering, and destruction. They use these words, with little regard for what they mean, and their actions are often totally unrelated to their meaning, and unfortunately, in exact opposition to the underlying concepts. Call me ‘ crazy ‘ if you wish, but isn’t it ‘ crazy ‘ to be this self-destructive? And not just to yourself, which I guess you have every right to do, if you so choose, but to the rest of us as well, and those you profess to love. The multitudes of innocents. Your friends, your family, and any and all that you love. But hurting others is a right that I do not grant you. I am continually frustrated and confused by these obviously misguided actions, and exist in a state of disbelief, every day, by what I see in all too many people.

My belief system, my philosophy, has little choice but to …. I want to say ignore them, but that is difficult indeed. I am forced to try and overlook these transgressions, and focus on the issues at hand. My life, and my path. You may call me selfish, and I plead guilty, but as you will see with many concepts we discuss, my perspective is vastly different from those whose reality has been shaping our schools, and our politics, and therefore, our homes and our children, with a warped sense of good and evil, right and wrong. Political correctness and victimization rules the land, and it does not rule well. They call Washington a swamp, and the analogy is apropos. A swamp is a beautiful place. Exotic and, to use an overused word, where an exciting and vast ‘ diversity ‘ exists, and where life abounds, with food and water and all the necessities of life. If you are an animal. They do quite well there. But not so for humans. Not for the world of man. While we may conquer the swamp, it is not a place for man. It is unforgiving, and relentless. The muck and mire that exists there makes it next to impossible to do much more than survive. The strong and the ruthless dictate the game, and the rest? Who cares. I got mine. Go get your own. We have no Shining City on the hill. There can be no swamps on that hill. And so it goes. Your government. Your country. Your vote. What were you thinking? Were you thinking at all?

I mentioned selfish, and it is a concept that bears repeating. As often as necessary. The act of being selfish is not a vice. It is one of the greatest virtues that you will ever exhibit. Once again, the word selfish has been co-opted by those with an agenda that does not wish for you to understand what I am trying to say. They don’t even want you to listen. Like most things, and most words, and especially the word ‘ selfish ‘, there are two sides to the discussion, the debate. While there are people that would do anything, to any one, to further their own goals at the expense of others, even to the taking of life, it is but a small part of being selfish. We can all agree that there are bad people that do bad things, and should be denounced, and if necessary, punished. But what of the people that can save the world? What of the others that do right for its own sake? That is selfish. How about your parents that gave up a better life for themselves so their children could prosper? They were selfish. The act of having a child itself is one of the most selfish things you can ever do. You do not have a child for the child’s sake. You do not do it to fill up society with more tax paying participants. You do it because you want to do it. You want to have a child. For yourself. And your spouse. Selfish. Being selfish is a good thing, and it ensures so much for yourself and everyone that comes in contact with you. It is selfish to attempt to get to know yourself. To like yourself. Hopefully to love yourself. It does not get repeated enough in this context, but Jesus, you remember Jesus Gonzalez? He said that we should ‘ love thy neighbor, as yourself ‘. I have mentioned that I am maybe not the biggest fan of the ‘ book ‘, and yet if you look to one passage, out of the entirety of that tome, this would be the one. I could write volumes to explain what such a statement means for all of us, and in these pages, eventually may do so. But there is an integral, and unspoken concept, which to me is the essence of life itself. It should be the ultimate goal of anyone who recognizes a path and the reason we follow it. We need to get to know ‘ self ‘. We need to understand our selves. We absolutely have to inevitably fall in love with our ‘ self ‘. And this is inarguably the most selfish thing I have ever attempted to do in my life. I think I do. I know who I am, and I appreciate what I am attempting to do. I know my strengths, as well as my weaknesses. A fundamental aspect of love is recognizing exactly what it is, and what comprises it. A pretty basic question would be, if you don’t love yourself, and don’t understand what love is, how do you ever envision being capable of loving another human being? The simple answer is that you cannot. It is just not possible. And what happens when you reach that point that you can honestly admit to yourself that you do indeed love yourself? You can then go and ‘ love thy neighbor ‘ in whatever manner you deem appropriate. You can then love others, but not because they want it, or need it, or deserve it, but because YOU want to. Selfish once again. Who would have thought. You do things because they bring you happiness. They bring happiness to others. It brings you pleasure. Not because someone else places obligations and responsibilities on you, unasked and unbidden. YOU make those decisions. You allowed yourself to love yourself. You allow yourself to love and help others. No one should ever coerce someone to do so. And you should never let yourself be placed in such a situation. Philosophy allows you to understand, and that understanding lets you love, and that love lets you live. It is all that your mind has ever wanted. It is all your heart desires. It is all your soul has been waiting for. It is so terribly simple, and so horribly difficult, to reach that point, when you know that you have achieved one of life’s ambitions. To experience happiness. To find peace. To know that all your time and effort has resulted in a successful step along the path. But you are not done yet. Another step awaits. One of many more to come.

And as for crazy, I guess I will take the hand I have been dealt and embrace my craziness as an attribute and a virtue, and use it as a life’s calling card. Beware, I think and therefore I am. But what I think is another story. For another day. And if you still think I am crazy? Who am I to disagree?

Is it possible that we are all crazy?
How would we know?
Why would we care?