Living in my own madness.

“Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.” Allen Ginsberg

There is such a stigma attached to madness, but then one man’s mad may be another’s normal. Who’s to say that our funny quirks and oddities are mad or normal. How often have I asked “What is normal?” Who says the so-called normal ones aren’t the mad ones and us mad ones are the normal ones.

At this point, you may want me to clarify what I think madness is and why I consider myself a bit on the mad side. I consider myself slightly mad because I have eccentric tendencies that don’t fit well with the “normals.” Now, when I categrorise myself as mad, I only use the word “mad” because that is the word the general public uses for eccentricity.

“I am not eccentric. It’s just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond of catfish.”
Edith Sitwell

There are, in fact, much better words to describe an eccentric or “mad” person. For me the word “mad” has a place, but it is not a good description for us types who don’t cause any harm, but rather live our lives with ourselves and cope with our minds. It does not mean that because the majority of people act in one particular way that the odd ones out are wrong in their behavior.

“He’sh mad?”
“Sort of mad. But mad with lots of money.”
“Ah, then he can’t be mad. I’ve been around; if a man hash lotsh of money he’sh just ecshentric.”
Terry Pratchett, The Light fantastic

So, do I howl at the moon? No, most definitely not in public, but as the quote goes, I do follow my inner moonlight, but sometimes, in this world it is necessary to hide my inner madness – but only when a critic is looking. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if we just simply understood one another and let everyone just be?