MOMENTS OF SANITY

     It's a crazy world. No doubt about that. The movie made so many years ago - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World, said it all in those few words. Try to figure out the world, try to game it, and the end result will be a debit recording. We have seen proof of that pudding these past five years, especially the last year, and know the truth. Lives have been lost and at the very least turned upside down and inside out as we learned new habits, unlearned or stowed away old ones, and tried to get on with life.

But life is really a story and two people undergoing the same events will have different stories. The author, Pat Conroy, stressed the power of "Tell me a story". What will be the story of these times? Whose 'story' will prevail in the hi-s-tory told in the books and the media? Already, depending upon where one goes for news, we appear to be living a dichotomy of stories, meshing not in the least, with strict about face versions of reality in some venues.

In all honesty, we have all survived - or are surviving - a trauma. Life has been that not normal. The question is, will we be able to return to moments of sanity, more and more of them, or will we begin to lose them. Actually, that has already begun, but can we stem the tide of that twisting and turning, the reality denying behavior of some?

The author, Patti Callahan, expressed it very well in her novel, Surviving Savannah - a book I most heartily recommend. "Not everyone who survives trauma becomes a better person. The idea that  surviving brings everyone to a new and better place is a lie told by people who need the world to make sense." And here we are. How confused are we with our not so brave new world? How do we ever explain  it to ourselves, let alone the kids? How do we return to sanity, leave behind the fear of the past year - or can that even be contemplated? Has the past year changed us so? Are these changes all bad and if they are, are they reversible?

I am hoping that we begin to find our way back to sanity in increasing steps and pace. We have a head of government today who emphasizes sanity, modesty, plain talk and sensible planning and behavior. No shooting from the hip. No off the cuff nasty remarks. No grandstanding. No nastiness and criticism said in gentle hints and nudges, forcing one to read between the lines, a nice change for he shouted paeans to hatred and bias, the name calling, under Trump. 

This is the way we can change, indeed become better people for the experiences we have undergone, but not all will wish to improve or change for the better. It is easier for some to retain bitterness, to allow acid to eat at the soul. It allows emphasis to be placed on the wrong things and the good things to be ignored, consigned to ignominy and for what? To prove a point that is already dead, been proven or shown to be a negative, rather than a positive?

Biden's campaign was run in a calm and rational manner. He showed that he was consistent, decidedly favored a sane version of behavior and history, and continued to do so in his first national speech. This trend continued in his first press conference yesterday and how pleasant it was to hear a rational voice rather than a blustery and bombastic know nothing pool of hot air, airing all the wrong things and never answering anything worth a damn!

It has been said now that this is an administration that will proceed in this manner: “As you’ve all observed, successful presidents better than me have been successful in large part because they know how to time what they’re doing. Order it, decide and prioritize what needs to be done.” Beautiful. A rational, sensible, pragmatic approach. Knowing what needs fixing, ordering them, and taking them on, one by one. Not all wrongs can be corrected simultaneously, certainly not in any realistic manner. It is hard to be patient when the wrongs affect oneself, but there must be that patience if we are to succeed. Republican Senators have admitted that Biden is "as sharp as a tack" in their meetings with him. He has plugged away since inauguration, with no golf trips, no playtime somewhere, just nose to the grindstone and progress. Not as fast as many wished, but progress nonetheless and we must treasure that.

We must treasure these moments of sanity, particularly as the moments of insanity seem to be increasing and the acidic tones of pro Trumpers who persist in their delusions drip ever more venom as the backwards policies of Trump are being rolled back and new steps forward are being taken.

Let us resolve during this holiday period to come out of this as better people. Let us show that we can be better if we really but try, put down the backstabbing knives, the cutting tongues, the necessity to "prove" one's venomous thoughts, and get back to sanity. It is a much better life that awaits us if we do so.

Due to the holiday, my next post will be on Tuesday. Please take the opportunity to browse through the postings and read those you might have missed. Enjoy the holidays. Enjoy your families. Let us enjoy and multiply those moments of sanity.