When the Crazies Drop by (part II)
What are the Crazies? They are the visceral, often subconscious, aspects of our personality entertaining socially inappropriate responses to life's stimuli. They are the road rage-aholic, the drunk acting like a blithering idiot, the politician going downtown to the red-light district for a tete-a-tete, the boss who can't help but comment aloud his emotional responses to a business deal, or the sexually-explicit comments we see on television which are becoming commonplace. The Crazies are also the ways we set up ourselves to fail, our attempts to exercise power over another through words or actions, and self-destructive habits.
Sometimes the Crazies visit me. An old boyfriend stopping by is a prime set-up for one of these visits. I lose my balance and my sense of self-control and the next thing I know, I'm saying or doing something I might regret.
To keep the Crazies at bay, I pray every morning, I write songs, I sing, I breathe deeply, I create goals for myself and fulfill them, I practice gratitude. I work hard to keep myself more sane than crazy.
They drop by less often than the past, but sure enough, when one of the kids is doing something harmful to themselves, that will unleash those Crazies in an instant! Being a mom brings on the Crazies like crazy! All our insecurities are exposed and our sense of balance is challenged and often drowned by the sound of babies crying, kids fighting, teenagers drugging and young adults struggling! Being a parent is definitely high times for the Crazies.
Thankfully, the restoration of balance takes much less time these days. Perhaps it is my age or perhaps I understand the mechanism better and the realize the futile nature of losing my footing to the Crazies.
Choice is a wonderful thing and the Crazies are just visitors I choose to entertain much less in my life.
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