I’m here for the wild ones.
Wisdom by its nature is supposedly "rational" yet the reason I deemed myself the "Irrational Sage" is in the paradox of definitions and expectations of the mad world I see all around me…or maybe it’s just me?
The masses subscribe to beliefs rooted in fear....be rational "they" said:
- do the safe thing (there’s no wonder the marketing tagline for mayhem and delusion is that of keeping everyone “safe and effective”)
- always play it safe (how dare you take a chance on something, let your hair down, have any adventure or intentionally step into danger…what madness is this)
- wear your seat belt (restrain yourself always.... seat belt, mask yourself, hide yourself, keep your mouth shut, sit down and be quiet, don't ruffle feathers, don't cause a ruckus, don't make anyone uncomfortable, don't say anything, just simmer down to nothing but the flat acceptance of becoming a wallflower…wallpaper is only ever an observer, not a player in the game of life)
- make "rational" choices that only align with what the world tells you is ok (what you "should" do, subscribe and comply the status quo, follow the "rules" by others who made them up to benefit THEM, not you, go to college, buy a house with a white picket fence, settle down, get married, have a baby, do things in their proper order, do things because it's tradition, do things because that's what you are supposed to do and that's how it's always been done, do things because that's what you were taught, do things because the "expert" said that's how it is, do things because someone said so, do what is expected of you, do what makes your parents proud….in other words, consent)
- don't do anything embarrassing because apparently all that matters is what everyone else thinks
- be reasonable (for God's sake, don't do anything on a whim, don't listen to that wildly stirring idea inside your soul daring you to do something crazy, something bold, just think about it, only use your mind, only refer to the intellect.... not your instincts, not your intuition, not your conscience, not your consciousness, not the Divine nudges...)
- listen to the experts, because they know best (even though they don’t, often they only know what they are taught by a system that indoctrinates, lies, and pushes propaganda to feed an agenda, to feed those in "charge" that have no "charge/chi" without the masses lining up and giving up their power) ...you know what's best for you beyond anyone claiming to be an expert, remain skeptical. (disclaimer: of course there are people who have proven themselves worthy as guides and teachers, those who have gotten where you want to get… ;) - don’t throw the baby out with the bath water either)
- be the same (follow the trends, follow the fashion, follow the fame, follow what’s popular, do what everyone else is doing….or be labeled an outcast and banished over the invisible line of make-believe)
I could go on, but I'll stop there, you get the point?
The masses want you rational because they want to be comfortable. They do not want to look at anything that reminds them of the version of themselves they are not brave enough to meet. If you do the "irrational" thing, which is really rational outside of the insane madness of a "rational" world, then you invite in agitation, contrast, or even a trigger that is a reminder that we are here to live, to love, to experience this realm, to take chances, to risk, to make messes.
Everyone wants to talk about peace, but it is the mess that matters too. The chaos opens things up and helps us see the joy, the silliness beyond the attempts at holding on to everything so tightly. I opened a can of paint to touch up my walls and I made a mess, I spilled a little, I had some dry on my hands, and the mess leaves remnants of beauty, drops of color as if a rainbow shattered and fell to the earth hoping I'll pick up the pieces and put it back together in a longing for it to be recognized in its wholeness and made material.
Like the Japanese art of kintsugi, repairing what is broken with gold may seem silly or strange to those who discard all things broken and replace them with the same thing, but new. This is like life; everyone has broken parts yet an unwillingness to do the work to put things back together means leaving behind and discarding something with the potential for greater beauty. It is in the broken pieces and shattered beliefs of our existence where the gold lives, it has to be dug up, sifted out, before it can shine. The gold fill in a broken cup weaves a solidified stream into greater tangibility and worthiness. All that is broken is not lost, the scars we wear tell the story of a life well lived, sometimes visible, sometimes not, always a storyteller.
Nature is wild and chaotic AND orderly and peaceful both...and we are nature. The restraining of the soul holds us back from allowing our true self to emerge out of the cocoon it is held inside. I think this is what depression feels like, which I've felt many times. It's the knowing that if I let my wild out, society will not accept me. Yet, we cannot hide from ourselves, the most enlivened and illuminated parts of us are cloaked by the shadow because someone once told us it wasn't ok, that we weren't good enough, that we must be level headed, even-keeled, and always rational.
But the thing is:
We can't learn if don't embarrass ourselves sometimes.
We can't grow if we don't fail/fall from grace sometimes.
We can't live if we are never silly, foolish, the jester of our own lives.
We can't become more intelligent if we don't give ourselves permission to be dumb, curious, ask questions, try something new.
Rationality comes from a place of doing what is “socially acceptable” and yet, this also can mean mass psychosis or delusion, as we witnessed during the 2020 pLandemic…people deemed it “rational” to smother themselves in a mask and poison themselves all for acceptance, social justification and false virtue…to which I say, I’ll stay irrational, No, Thank You!
How is it rational to vote for someone to rule over you…and yet this is deemed so by the majority?
How is it rational to spend years sitting at a desk in school, and then work…and yet this is accepted as the mature and rational thing for everyone to do?
It seems to me most of what the world says is rational is utterly insane, thus they point fingers at those who are different than them and call them that which they are?
To be irrational is to be rational in an insane and inverted world.
On etymonline the definition of Rational:
late 14c., racional, "pertaining to or springing from reason;" mid-15c., of persons, "endowed with reason, reasonable," from ratio (genitive rationis) "reckoning, calculation, reason"
In arithmetic, "expressible in finite terms," 1560s. Meaning "conformable to the precepts of practical reason" is from 1630s.
1767, "explain in a rational way, make conformable to reason," from rational + -ize. The psychological sense of "to give an explanation that conceals true motives" dates from 1922, on the notion of "cause to appear reasonable or socially acceptable." In 19c. Newman and Browning also used it with an intransitive sense of "think for oneself, employ one's reason as the supreme test." Related: Rationalized; rationalizer; rationalizing.
late 15c., "not endowed with reason" (of beasts, etc.), from Latin irrationalis/inrationalis "without reason, not rational," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of.” Meaning "illogical, absurd" is attested from 1640s. Related: Irrationally. The mathematical sense "inexpressible in ordinary numbers" is from late 14c. in English, from use of the Latin word as a translation of Greek alogon in Euclid.
"wise, judicious, prudent," c. 1300 (late 12c. as a surname), from Old French sage "wise, knowledgeable, learned; shrewd, skillful" (11c.), from Gallo-Roman *sabius, from Vulgar Latin *sapius, from Latin sapere "have a taste, have good taste, be wise" (from PIE root *sap- "to taste;" see sap (n.1)). Originally of persons, but that use is now poetic only or archaic; of advice, etc., "characterized by wisdom" is from 1530s. Related: Sageness.
Thus, my wisdom comes from my experiences, my instincts, my intuition, my inner knowing, from learning to trust myself, even when I make mistakes, even when I fail, even when I’m the joker-the fool-the jester, even if it makes me the villain in someone else’s story, even if I’m not accepted, even if it seems unreasonable or “irrational” to what is acceptable en masse…and my hope is that others find their way back to themselves and do the same.
And then there is love and that is a whole other ball of wax, a turning tide of irrationality that everyone runs to, or from, as the ultimate paradox… proving the heart must be insane. I think of it as the innocent organ, the inner child’s resting ground, for no mature adult would choose the heart-ache and madness of loving others, at least not anyone who has been shattered or deeply hurt, but the inner-child can see beyond that with purity and humanness that transcends our physical being. I’ve always found it interesting how hurt and heart are so close in spelling and phonetics. There is a special, and priceless, gift in giving love that is different than the one that comes from being loved. That inner child in you is going to love anyway, so you might want to spend some time in there, for love is an act of courage, it’s terrible, beautiful, magical…and irrational.
Sometimes doing what’s rational is the right choice, for it is only a true fool that rebels for the sake of rebelling and not because a decision in a given moment is coming from an inner place speaking from their authentic self.
The most rational wisdom is sometimes in doing what is irrational, what everyone else might call insane.
So be irrational, stir the energy of life, even if that means being the calm in the storm and even if that means being the storm amidst the illusion of order. Life is a paradox, just like the wisdom of the (s)ages…ever changing, ever knowing, ever growing.
The whole world is irrational, yet trying to fit itself inside the labels, instead of facing the unknown, the aspects of being that are mysterious, the hilariousness of the cosmic joke that plagues us all.
It is the irrational unrealistic ones who find the truth, who do things everyone told them they couldn’t do, who throw caution to the wind and do what they know is right, who listen to their heart and soul….the change makers don’t follow the rules, they burn paths, they build bridges, they forge ahead, they say it like it is, they climb mountains, they face fears, they overcome, they are always the last ones standing.
I really hope people understand the irony in being irrationally sage…quick, I need to sage this whole article, just to be “safe.” (LOL)
So, dear ones, the ones here claiming their part in the collective re-wilding, returning to nature, returning to living in connection with Source, remembering, you might as well let your irrational wisdom out and stir the fucking cauldron, ignite the energy of your inner-chi and be-you-fully, because that’s beautiful.
Thank you for being here in my corner of the interweb,
Love this…that is interesting about hurt/heart. And thanks for reminding me about the Japanese art of honoring brokenness and giving those broken pots MORE worth- that’s so beautiful.
So good and so needed ... Quoting: "The masses want you rational because they want to be comfortable. They do not want to look at anything that reminds them of the version of themselves they are not brave enough to meet. If you do the 'irrational' thing, which is really rational outside of the insane madness of a 'rational' world, then you invite in agitation, contrast, or even a trigger that is a reminder that we are here to live, to love, to experience this realm, to take chances, to risk, to make messes."