Strengthening conceptual intelligence.
Assignment 2.
Defining sanity in my own words.
Is that how you get your sick kicks?
She asked.
Deceiving people into thinking that this is all there is.
It's what I do.
He replied.
People are often so concerned with what is,
They don't even consider what does.
I wrote a journal entry where I defined sanity and insanity in my own words.
To do this,
Instead of asking myself,
What is sanity?
What is insanity?
I'm asking myself,
What does sanity and insanity do?
For a person like me,
For instance.
First,
Sanity.
Sanity makes my experience of life feel stable.
It provides solid ground under my feet to walk on and move about the world.
Sanity creates a firm platform for my actions,
Pushing me forward towards fulfillment and happiness.
It feels like taking a step forward,
Pushing off of the pavement,
And knowing that the pavement is pushing me back.
Defining insanity in my own words.
What does insanity do?
Insanity pulls a person away from their stable measures of progress in life.
Away from their personal feedback sources.
It disconnects a person from solid ground,
As if they are floating in a bottomless ocean,
Just water in every direction.
Insanity confuses meaningful direction and movement.
Up,
Down,
Left,
Right,
All feels the same,
With no feedback.
No walls,
Limits,
Boundaries or structure to know which way is which.
And more importantly,
No way to know which way is relevant.
It all seems the same.
Like treading water in the middle of the ocean,
You just tread and tread until you're exhausted and you sink.
This is what insanity feels like.
I consider fulfillment as a personal feedback source.
That is to say,
Fulfillment is my measure,
My subjective measure of do I like where my life is going?
Am I on the right track?
Insanity pulls me away from fulfillment as a measure,
Not necessarily away from fulfillment as it is.
When I lose touch with what fulfills me,
Which path gives fulfillment,
I'm almost certainly panicked and flailing in the water of insanity.
It's probably a good idea to make a decision to float in times like these moving forward,
Rather than flail or panic,
Accepting that I am confused,
Disoriented,
Floating with no sense of direction,
Accepting that in life.
But panicking,
When confused or disoriented,
Panicking in the deep will only exhaust me.
I'd prefer,
At least in theory,
To float and conserve energy.
And then,
When given a chance to grab onto any solid ground of fulfillment,
That comes my way,
I'm ready.
Given a chance to start swimming vigorously towards any fulfillment,
Any solid ground that comes into view,
I'm ready.
It's probably a good idea to appreciate the solid ground that I do experience when it happens.
I can become familiar with what it feels like to have solid ground under my feet,
To walk forward with confidence and certainty.
Here's an exercise you can try.
Next time you stand up to take a walk,
It can be to the fridge,
To your car,
In the park.
This will work walking anywhere.
But next time you stand up to take a walk,
Imagine that,
Instead of walking and pushing yourself forward with each step,
Imagine that the ground is pushing you forward with each step.
The very ground under your feet is aiding you on your path,
Pushing you forward.
To me,
That's what sanity feels like,
Knowing the solid ground under your feet is there to help you,
And appreciating that.
And that's my journal entry.
Thanks for listening.
