The Insanity of it All

I have heard that one of the definitions of insanity is to continue to do the same thing over and over in life with a certain ending only to expect a different outcome.

One of my children's favorite movies when they were growing up was the Disney movie Bambi. In one of the scenes Bambi's mother is shot by a hunter and killed. It can be a real tear jerker if you sit down and become invested in the movie. I remember several times I would sit with the kids and watch it with them and when it came to that particular scene I would psych myself up for a different outcome wanting the mother to see the hunter and get away. Then the hunter would kill the mom and I would be devastated crying like a baby over an animated movie.  After this happened I am sorry to say more then a few times I realized that I was just setting myself up for failure and a big disappointment. Not to mention making myself crazy.

This in itself may sound silly but think about those people who date the same type of person over and over. Thank about someone who is always choosing the same kind of friends or works for a particular kind of boss who under appreciates them. What about someone who continues to rescue a certain type of person from their own fate. Monotony, frustration, disappointment, pain, fear, anger, depression, etc... which are all attached to repeating a broken pattern in our lives that no longer serves us. In one way or anther we have all experienced this kind of insanity. Sometimes we are aware of the pattern and other times we sleepwalk through it only to find ourselves back on the hamster wheel.

The really good news is like in the Bambi example it may only be that first step in recognizing the insanity that helps us recalculate so that we can remove a lot of unnecessary stress and pain in our lives. We have the ability to learn from these broken patterns allowing us to take the responsibility for ourselves and not blame others for the things that are not panning out. This also gives us the power to change our course in life and steer it in another direction that is more in line with what we wish to accomplish.


Photographs by Steve Noyce - The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA