If you’re crazy, how do you know?
I’m not being tongue in cheek, I’ve genuinely been pondering this for years.
If you were say, Moses, and a bush burst into flames, speaking to you and claiming to speak God’s words, what would you think?
I? Would likely immediately assume I was nuts. I’m not saying Moses was. I just don’t have the kind of faith in myself to think God would want to speak to me directly.
Moses, on the other hand, told Pharaoh to let his people go, parted a sea and jotted down some commandments that changed the landscape of morality forever.
And people followed him. Because he told them he spoke to a burning bush.
We STILL follow him because he talked to a burning bush.
Nowadays when people say things like that, we lock them up in mental hospitals.
This question plagues me when I watch apocalypse themed movies as well.
Those movies are all the same. A girl witnesses something an awful. A shadowy figure tells her she’s been chosen to stave off the apocalypse. That only she can stop the impending doom. Oh, and by the way, says the shadowy figure, only you can see me.
How does she not immediately think “Crap, I need to get myself to a psychiatrist.”
I worry frequently that it will be up to me to stop the apocalypse. A shadowy figure will tell me I’m the only one who can see him. Which will cause me to have myself committed. And the world will fall to demons or whatever else was threatening us.
All because I couldn’t tell if I was crazy.
I’m sorry in advance.
So tell me, do you know how we can avoid me dooming the world? Is there some kind of litmus paper I could be using?
If you lick the litmus paper and it turns flaming red with the word “CRAZY” printed in the middle, then you can safely ignore any other-wordly instructions. If not — Good luck. We're all counting on you.
You can ignore other-worldly instructions, too.
Way to strike fear into me first thing in the morning. Now I am concerned about two things that never crossed my mind before…
1. You not being able to stop the world from collapsing
2. Me going crazy with no one the wiser (this may already be happening but you just brought it to my attention again).
Funny, I feel like I've had this conversation with you???
Hmm, that is a predicament.
You better get this figured out before 5/21/2011. I just heard some “crazy” person say this is the date of the apocalypse.
Ok I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this way. Me… I know I'm nuts. I can't explain it, I just know. Some of the thoughts I have in my head just aren't normal thoughts.
What I think is crazy on other people's parts are all of these fish and birds dying in mass quantities and nobody seems to be worried or care. I think that's crazy and it seems to be the majority of people who don't care. So am I crazy or are they?
Yes, I struggle with the crazy too.
I had a sudden vision of the singing bush from the 'Three Amigos'.
To quote Joe v. The Volcano, “I have no response to that.”
o boy. hopefully the fates draw someone ELSE's name out of the hat that day…
It's OK. The shadowy person says I now have that job, so you can relax. You should probably start wearing a grey tunic though since I'm going to require that after I save the world.
Well, we'll all know it's you.
You're clearly MEANT to save us from the apocalypse, so if you have yourself committed we'll do a twitter petition for you to free yourself so that the rest of us will be saved.
Ok?
HAHAHA! You never fail to make me smile. I love this and I think there are probably more people that worry about it (at least the crazy part) than would admit it. I'm right there with you on hoping no one chooses me to stop an apocalypse.
I have always thought if I go crazy I will know it. But I'm sure all the crazy people think they are sane. Hmmmmm.
I feel as though if it is up to you to stop the apocalypse, we are in good hands.
This post made me laugh.
Well, thanks for this.
Now I'm off to jot this down as yet another thing that I have to worry about.
Because I don't have enough to be crazy about.
Dammit.
Hmmm…you bring up some valid points.
I think what you'll have to do is find that guy. You know…that guy who lives in a trailer and collects conspiracy theory, government cover-up information or obscure religious texts? Yeah. Him. He's always pretty good at pointing people in the right direction and assuring them of their lack of craziness.
Doom the world or not, I love you.
I'm sure that before you check in to the mental hospital, you will spend a few minutes blogging about the experience, at which time we (the loyal followers) will recognize the great quest you have been given and the world will be safe.
Or.
We will send some yummy cookies your way that you can enjoy while the world blows up.
Um….ya know, that's a damn good questiong girl.
I mean…if you have to save the world from Apocolypse…well, you need a new dress! You gotta look pretty and be comfy while you're doin' it!
And?? I think I heard that if you ask yourself if you're crazy; you're not.
Crazy people don't wonder if they're crazy.
I'll make it a point to pay close attention to your tweets from here on out, just in case you start dropping hints as to what's coming our way.
Coming from a “crazy” perspective, I would wonder if I had missed a dose of my meds. Seriously.
I'm pretty sure Moses was nuts. and Pharaoh didn't want to lose his slaves, no, he was concerned they were all joining a cult.
I'd think the same thing if all my friends decided to follow some guy into the desert who claims to talk to bushes.
when I start to question my sanity, I always ease my mind with the old adage: if you think you might be crazy, you probably aren't.
I think if you're with it enough to worry about being crazy then you probably *aren't* crazy. In which case you need to sell your story to The National Enquirer asap.
You can hang with me in the mental ward. I'm there because someone told me to get two of every animal and put them on a boat. I think it was Morgan Freeman.
Our lives are in your hands.
(or could be)
Remember that.
I don't know, but figure it out. You're my litmus paper for the end.
Wait, so you're telling me if you get the sign to save us all you will, you know, not heed it? You will not heed the sign?
HEED THE SIGN!
I have no idea why I'm yelling.
Other than the fate of the world is in your hands.
Oh, wow. I think we might actually share a brain. This is the kind of thing that keeps me up at night, too. I've frequently thought about angels/other messengers appearing to me, and simply thinking even if they did, I'd be afraid to tell anyone for fear of ending up on a locked ward.
And we've discussed in Sunday school several times what would happen if Jesus showed up today as he did originally. The consensus was that not only would we be afraid of him and think he was crazy, but that people would think the same of us if we believed him, as well.
So, basically what I'm saying is that if something appears to you, at least tell the rest of us on your blog or Twitter. I promise not to laugh. (Snort!)
get out of my head, it's already crowded in there!
This is a fascinating post! I've never thought about this before. But that being said, I am slightly off my rocker so I'm not sure you should be listening to any of my advice in any case!!
Litmus paper – now that's a blast from the past. LOL
Oh good! You might be the apocalypse stopper! I was worried it was me and I sure can't tell the difference between crazy and normal.
Loved this post!!!
Here's what I think… they really only pick people who will believe them. I mean, that's the only viable option. Because if they pick someone who is, say, normal… then they wouldn't get anything accomplished. I think you only get picked if you are an orphan who grew up on the streets of LA but sure can sing and play a mean guitar and also look like a model even though you haven't had any work done and some rich and famous guy is totally into you but you don't know it because, hello, you are just hanging out in the back alley playing your music.
Or something.
Solet me ease your mind.. No PERSON can stop the apocalypse plain and simple. Only Jesus can come back and bring order back into the mayhem..
Um, is this a hypothetical situation, or are you actually seeing spirits?
Have you been watching Ghost Adventures again?
Valuable info. Lucky me I found your site by accident, I bookmarked it.
I've had the joy and liberty of assessing many a crazy person over the last few months.
Let me tell you what. When you're in the presence of crazy, THEY HAVE NO IDEA.
The hair on the back of your neck may stand up, but they're happy as a clam and sitting there talking about how JFK raped his mom and that's how he came to be born!
That got creepy. I apologize.
You're right, though. The people in those movies are nuts because they don't question their own ability to be completely bat-shit.
Which they are.
My son is convinced that not only will the world end in 2012, but the zombies may take over before that.
Which makes me wonder why we have scraped and saved to send him to college next year.
And I always wonder in movies why the stupid people make the stupid choices that WE know will get them killed or otherwise. How does our human race survive, anyway?
All I can hear right now is Cameron (from Ferris Bueller's Day Off) singing “Let my people goooooooo.”
My only hope for the Apocalypse is that I go in the first wave. All quick like. I'm a chicken. I don't wanna have to fight.
I speak to bushes and other random inanimate objects all the time. Do you think I should get myself checked out?
PS Definitely count me out on saving the world from the apocalypse. I can't even save my toothbrush from the toilet.
This is literally the funniest thing I've read all week.
I snorted & laughed & had to read it out loud to my mom who snorted & laughed.
If you get some Godly advice & need to save the world, please heed it. If you're wrong & don't save the world, go commit yourself after the fact. Just call it playing it save.
Crazy people don't think they're crazy. So if you think you are, chances are, you're not.
It's if you see that shadowy figure that no one else can see, and don't question it at least a little that you should be worried.