2 Degrees South of Sane

Have you ever noticed that people say things but that the way in which they say them really tells more of the story?

Sometimes, we fall into the pattern of 'social' speech. We tell ourselves that if we say things in our lives are going okay that it will be an act of mind over matter and we will feel better and be able to deal with the burdens of daily living.

While that may work sometimes, there are definately moments in time in which that is precisely the wrong approach to life. When the detectable stress patterns in your voice and the levels of anxiety are no longer able to be hidden, it is time for a break and time to recharge.

Recently, it really became obvious to me that we have, by virtue of the speed of our lives, chosen to live under a level of stress that is slowly killing us all - both participant and bystander - in a tedious, painful ballet of irrational thought and action.

It is as if we believe we have become so invaluable in our particular sphere of influence that we can no longer be allowed time to ourselves or time off from our labors for either good or bad behavior. We have succeeded in almost convincing ourselves that if don't continue to plug along and instead we choose to take time for ourselves that it is a type of wicked indulgence for which we will be eternally punished and most certainly receive some sort of earthly sanction for having thought of ourselves or our need for personal recharging.

Like a penalty phase with a double edged sword, we feel personal guilt if we take the time off or we most certainly suffer personal anxiety, health concerns and bodily harm mentally and physically when we don't. High blood pressure, overeating, undereating and all manner of poor choices that affect our health begin to erode our level of sanity and our ability to 'just get along'.

So how do we find that fine line we must tiptoe along that separates enough from not enough?

It takes an almost perverse sense of insanity to be able to see that there must be enough 'me time' in order to survive against the press of demands both internally and externally applied. And like any theory of sanity and it's variables, there must be some kind of measure of when 'it's enough' to justify the time off.

Sometimes, it comes through a warning that we hear internally. We get 'the message' that we need to de-stress and shed the layers of life that have created the buildup in our heart, mind and soul. The process of becoming ourself again can take place and equilibrium is restored.

But at other times, it literally requires the intervention of an outside source who can hear the rising level of panic in our voices and throw out the lifeline we so desperately need. People who charge in with the cavalry that make our personal struggles, for that moment in time, their own and make it possible for us to change our lives for the better.

How grateful I am that I have been blessed with people in my life who can, at these moments of impending personal disaster, alter the outcome by a simple diversion of the rising tide of destruction into safe channels that can later be dealt with in a systematic and sure fashion. It truly has made all the difference in my world and it keeps me in a somewhat comfortable latitude somewhere near sanity. To claim to be right on point with total and perfect sanity would be to deny the birthright of being just eccentric enough to be an individual.

Today - I wish to offer this as a thanks for the people who have, in their own moments of personal clarity, helped me to find one moment for myself. Duration of that moment is not the issue. Instead it is that they have reached into my chaos and created an island of calm for that instant and brought the soul adrift to a welcome shore for a rest before pushing out into an uncertain sea once again.

Although we all must have our rides on the swelling tides that carry us through the ebbs and flows of our personal existence, we also need to have those trips into the calm estuaries and safe harbors that allow us to repair, renew and reflect before we cast our fates to the winds upon the seas of life.

My gratitude knows no bounds for those all through my personal journey who have been willing to throw out a lifeline when the storms have raged. They are, for that moment, a savior on the water and a master of the sea.