As mad as a Hatter. Mental. Loopy. These are terms usually given to people who are unsound of mind. These words can also be used to describe those who are obviously - through their physical appearance, differences in character, attitudes or through the herd mentality generally considered to be not 'normal'. Normal to me means being a conformist. ie. doing things that the majority of others do. Great achievers do not conform.
We are all unique in our own special way and beneath the veneer of our outward facing appearance - all potentially stark raving mad. But we're concerned about appearances and how we're perceived by others. We want to fit in. It takes the likes of artist, Grayson Perry to give us a slap around the face and wake us up to the fact that we've become so over-conscious about what others think that a lot of us live uncomfortable conformist lives away from our true selves. This great Channel 4 documentary looking at 21st century tribes talks about identity based on isolation and fear.
Genius And Madness
It's been said before that genius and madness are closely connected and if we look back through history, we can see clear connections of genius relating to the (ASD) autism spectrum disorder. Great minds that have devoted their lives to bringing a wealth to the human race include Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Alan Turing, Steve Jobs, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, likely Bill Gates and there's many others that could be considered this way too.
One thing that stands out with these famous people is that they stayed true to what they believed in, despite being ridiculed, fought against and laughed at for their outlandish beliefs. We should embrace our eccentricities, our quirks, our colourful, interesting, creative character traits. They make us who we are and form our true identity.
In our struggle for acceptance, we compromise our true selves to fit in with what we're led to belief is the normal way to live. But if we want to live a life true to our desires and beliefs, we should consider following our paths towards happiness and fulfilment through expression. I like these two quotes:
'The most beautiful and complex artwork we can make is our identity' Grayson Perry
'First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win' - Mahatma Gandhi
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