I must share this with all of you:
"We are all a little crazy. The sanest among us question their sanity the most. Sanity is based on a paradox. If you do not question your sanity, then you may well be on the road to Crazyville. Positive self-doubt is a sign of mental and spiritual health. Saints are common people with enough wisdom to obtain an occasional Divine reality check (through prayer, meditation, reading, wise counsel from others, and time alone with nature).
From individual hang-ups to mass hysteria, we are all a little off center. Admitting it is a key ingredient in repentance (a change of mind or heart). It is central in one of Jesus' favorite stories: The Parable of the Prodigal Son. Until the out of control second son "came to himself" and questioned what he was doing, he was acting out some sort of weird narcissistic drama. His reality check was based on his memory of the one truly sane person in his life - the calm, wise parent back home.
The secondary story in the parable is about the over-conforming older brother that appeared to have his act together. In truth, he was just crazy in a different direction. His "acting out" was in his holier-than-thou attitude. The father in the story had to work with him too. In the story, God is represented by the father and the two boys represent the two major themes to being a bit wacko: over-conformity and under-conformity. We all tend to fall into one category or another. Sanity is found between the two extremes.
I poke fun at myself in a positive way. That is called humility. By recognizing my weaknesses I become strong (another paradox). True strength is knowing your limitations, accepting them, and working around them. Denying them is the self-told lie that opens the door to a lot of evil.
I am very cautious about people that poke fun at me or others, but not at themselves. That is a red flag. My inner counselor encourages me to pull my chair back a few inches and get some emotional distance. Being put on the defensive is a tactic that goes all the way back to the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
I have done some really crazy things in my life...and some outright bad ones too. "Be merciful to me a sinner..." is the opening line of honest prayer and the first step in the Divine reality check."
Dale Andrews
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