I would say if I were to tell you how I am it would be that I am usually a pragmatic and compassionate realist. Suffering brought me here of many different kinds in life.
However, I got to be in my 40s and I realized that this point of view wasn't going to get me past about 50 because I needed something else in my life. And when I met my present wife at 46 years old I realized what I was missing which was someone who was as balanced as I was raised too who didn't go through so much stuff growing up that it made it difficult for me to survive beyond a certain point.
Growing up in the 1950s I just took it for granted that most people were crazy. I decided to be a survivor to survive anything that came in my life because most people were crazy in the 1950s and 1960s. This actually worked for me.
In fact, a I had a friend in the 1980s and 1990s who was still alive who had been a Catholic Priest and before that District Attorney of Santa Cruz County as a lawyer. He told me a story of a young man he was counseling who was Catholic who said he wanted to kill himself. One day he realized what he was going to say to this young man which is: "You do know that absolutely everyone is crazy right?"
This actually saved that young man's life because the girl he wanted to marry was there as well as his parents for these counseling sessions. This was exactly what this young man needed to know.
Everyone is crazy. This is a given.
I have never met anyone who wasn't crazy in some way. I think if you are realistic you have never met anyone who wasn't crazy either.
Because here is the craziest thing we do as people and children. Staying alive here on earth is the craziest thing we ever do. Why?
Because we stay alive for each other. If I didn't have others to care for and to be in my life I wouldn't likely be here either.
In other words I have a Life and have realized since I got married the first time when I was 26 years old that being a Dad and being married because I was a Dad worked for me. But, otherwise being alive wasn't something I wanted to do for myself or by myself.
So, if you start with the intelligent premise of "Everyone is crazy" then maybe you can survive in this world too by helping take care of all the crazy people you love."
By God's Grace
PS However, I'm not sure everyone is like me that they stay alive for the people they love in life. So, there are many different kinds of people after all.
However, for me, I stay alive for others that I care about.
Knowing this gives me Great Peace and is a primary part of my connection to God our Creator.
By God's Grace
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