I use the word “sane” as part of this blog’s title. You may find this is an odd word to use next to “happiness” and “a content life”, but I think it fits perfectly.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines sanity as “the quality or state of sane: soundness or health of mind”. When I look up “sane”, Merriam-Webster offers three definitions:
- proceeding from a sound mind : rational
- mentally sound ; especially : able to anticipate and appraise the effect of one’s actions
- healthy in body
In short, Merriam-Webster defines sanity as having a sound mind and body. These definitions make sense, but how do we define “sound”?
Sound Mind
A sound mind is based on seeing reality clearly. For instance, last Wednesday morning I was in a serious car accident. I pulled up behind a long line of traffic and slowed to a stop. Suddenly, a pickup truck rammed the back of my car. In quick succession came a crunching sound, head snap, vision of my car rammed into the car in front of me, another crunching sound, airbag explosion, another head snap, rear windshield explosion, flying glass pieces, silence, pain. I was dazed as I tried to determine if I was hurt. Luckily, all I had was bump on my head and a headache. I got out of the car. The driver of the pickup truck that hit me came to help. He was contrite and sober. He said he’d looked away for two seconds and didn’t realize that traffic had stopped. Looking at the facts, I realized this was an accident that could have happened to anybody. This is seeing reality clearly.
Alternatively, I could have thought “this guy tried to kill me” or “why didn’t I see the truck coming and try to pull out of the way”. This would be my mind incorrectly interpreting reality. There is nothing inherently wrong with me thinking these interpretations. The problem occurs if I immediately react to them. If I did, I might physically or verbally attack the truck driver or feel guilty about not moving out of the way. If I take the time to think, I’ll realize these interpretations are nonsense. The truck driver didn’t intend to harm me and there was nowhere to move my car on a two lane road with no shoulder.
It sounds easy to take the time to correctly interpret reality. It’s not. The difficulty is that you become caught up in the drama and emotion of the moment. Have you ever done something when you were really angry that you regretted later? I know I have. You realize later that your interpretation of reality was incorrect and you overreacted. To break this cycle, you must learn to observe your own interpretations and thoughts as they happen. This takes skill and practice which I will discuss in future posts.
Try This
As a starting exercise, take a deep, relaxing breath, and look around. What do you see? Does anything you see illicit an emotion or related thought? Which is reality – what you see or your reaction?
Sound Body
A sound body is a body that’s physically fit. Physical fitness means you have strength, aerobic capacity, flexibility, and moderate body fat.
Potential fitness level varies by person. Somebody suffering from an injury or illness cannot be as physically fit as somebody that is not, but he can be as fit as possible for him.
Do you agree with my definition of sanity? Are you sane?
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