Sometimes we have to go crazy to learn to be happy

Here are some rules:

• It takes 3 months or more to tell someone you love them;
• No kissing on the first date;
• You should come to job interviews dressed nicely and with plenty of fresh air;
• When you are asked what your biggest dream in life is, you must not say eating chocolate waffles for dinner;
• When you are asked if you like travelling, you say yes;
• You must never place your handbag on the floor or on the ground;
• If you are a man, you cannot smile when you see other people's children playing, let alone girls;
• When you are offered to buy a tablecloth at a Lithuanian post office, you say "no";
• If you are over 14 years old, you can't try to run up an escalator in the opposite direction and try to beat it;
• If someone refuses bread products, you roll your eyes and think he/she is just making up his/her problems;
• When they ask you what your name is, you just say your name;
• When you're trying to get to know other people, the second question you ask is what their job is, not what their favourite activity is or who they are as a person;
• If you are a girl, you must shave your legs, moustache, armpits, arms and all other areas except around your lower lip. Although, on second thought, shave there too, you abomination.

...And so on.

Are any of these rules yours? Perhaps you say one of these things to others?

And have you tried to act like a madman?

• On the trolley, tell your business idea to the person sitting next to you;
• To say to the people who matter to you the things you've wanted to say to them for ages - even if they're trite and seem unremarkable;
• Start sleeping 10 hours a day, because you never feel rested after 8 hours;
• Ask for a discount on coffee at the café, as this is your third time here;

...And so on?

We live as if we were immortal.

But can we afford to live like this? To follow our own or other people's rules, to fall asleep forever in a straight line of life, to be at peace where we were born...?

We live as if we were immortal.

(And yes, I repeat myself.)

But we are not just mortal. We are VERY mortal.

No need for disease, homicidal maniacs, orthodox terrorists, or the most ordinary old age. We can die in car accidents, die stuck in a lift, die falling down the stairs, die eating a little too much kugel, die choking on a chicken bone, die of boredom, or die of a million other improbable things never planned for and never defined in our rules.

"Sometimes in life we have to go crazy, to lose control, to step back from the way we see things and discover that the world is not what we think it is, that it is not solid, structured and eternal. One day we will die and nothing can change that."

- Natalie Goldberg, "On writing", 132ppl.

And why should we continue to live according to rules that may not be strict rules at all, but only rules that we are afraid to break? Why should we always be afraid to be crazy and be normal?

Today's idea:

1. Next time you can be normal and follow the old rules...
2. ...Don't be. And do something crazy.

Do an experiment. Take what seems like one single thing - the smallest and tiniest (or the biggest and most frequent thing in your life) - and don't behave the way you normally do.

• If you want to learn to play the piano, the first thing to do is to sit down without any lessons and play it. Use your hearing, poor as it may be, and press the keys until the rhythms start to sound.
• If you've ever wanted to start a business, don't look for a special guide on how to do it - just try buying, making and selling. It's natural for business. Or don't even try to sell - create a [social business] where you earn nothing but happiness, satisfaction and a better life for those around you;
• If you want to start writing, write. Then show others. Or don't - do what your intuition tells you.

...And so on.

Instead of being smart but flat, be crazy but fantastic.

You will need some courage. A little inspiration. Some moments of life. But it will be fantastic.

And if it's not pleasant, it's even better, because once you've done something according to the rules, you'll understand why you're following the rules. And you won't just follow them because someone said for some reason that you can't ask a woman how old she is.

"One of the best ways to control sheep is to give them the whole field. When they have too much freedom, they will go back to the barn and obey the rules. But when they come back, they will know why they are obeying them."

- slightly paraphrased from Katagiri Suzuki, Zen teacher

A little crazy,
Daniel