The fear of the truth can cause people to pretend that their life is something it truly is not. How can people continue to pretend that they are happy when in reality they are not?
Someone once said “if you can look at yourself in the mirror for at least ten seconds than you are doing pretty well.” This does not mean brushing your teeth, putting on make up, or deciding whether or not to get Botox. This is looking straight into their own eyes. Most may struggle doing this, but why? Some may not be able to because they know that it will bring to surface all the things that bother them. It would be like opening Pandora’s Box, and it takes time for human beings to reach that point in their life.
It is okay to seek happiness, it would be hard not to and our humanity cannot help to yearn for it. Some people pretend they are happy because they are too afraid to admit they are not. Naturally, people don’t want to admit that they made a mistake. They don’t want to admit that the life or decision they chose was not the right one, or they may fear to face judgement from friends or family members. If that is the case, those people have no are toxic for self-exploration for truth and happiness. Society says we have to uphold an image. It requires humanity to at least have the allusion they are happy in order to survive in the world. People living with anxiety and depression, in society, struggle to wear the “mask of happiness”. That is why most people in the US are on some kind of mood stablizer. Sometimes, those who cannot hide their emotions are in society are consider weak or a target for manipulators, or those who take advantage of the honest people. Being honest is not easy today because society doesn’t accept truth. Faking happiness and avoiding the truth is the reason human beings are flawed; it is our humanity. Living in fear of other people’s opinions keeps society forced to hide the things people wish they could say or express true feelings and their real them.
INSERT CLIP FROM SLP
Everyday, we all walk out of the house in a metaphorical mask. Regardless of human demands, there is a mask to wear for work, family gatherings, real friend , and sadly we wear a mask when we are with fake friends. Some choose not to wear a mask and may be told periodically they are too honest, and their biggest weakness is they are “too honest,” and there is a price to pay.
Truly honest people see this as a blessing because they cannot fool themselves to think they are happy when they really are not. They can fool others into thinking they are because of where they might work, the types of friends or social circles they have, or in some cases their families – disapproving parents or siblings. Films and T.V illustrated these themes mostly through actions and dialogue of the characters. The themes are the always showing how humanity’s flaws of ignoring the truth is is the reason behind the conflict of their problems. In some films people being honest are the “crazy ones”. Todd Phelps’s “Silver Linings Playbook” does a sensational job illustrating this in the movie in a variety of scenes.
Every now and then some may and can have a mental break down to someone close to them, but it takes a family that is not afraid to speak the truth or at least accept the opportunity to change their perspective to find personal, individual growth.
So who is really insane? Those who tell the truth when no one else wants to or the ostrichigues with their heads buried in the sand. What society says is mental illness is insanity? Let me start by defining the word insanity. The word “insanity” is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language as “Insane as an adjective – 1, of, exhibiting, or afflicted with insanity 2. Characteristic of, used by, or for the insane. 3. Very foolish; rash; wild.
Insanity as a noun – A persistent mental disorder or derangement.
Let’s define derangement. “Severe mental disorder. 2. Disarrangement; confusion; disorder. When these words are closely analyzed in the way that they are used and understood in the context and content in our lives as well as societies, we can truly understand something about humanity. The words describe derangement which goes back to describing insanity – see confusion.
Isn’t everyone confused? Doesn’t society seem confused? How many times would you refer to your house or life in disorder? How many times does our society or the world seem in disorder or confusion? So is it fair to say life is insanity? The thesaurus describes insanity with a plethora of synonyms below.
adj.
insane, mad, lunatic, loony [Coll.] — crazy, crazed, aliene [Fr.], non compos mentis [Lat.] — not right, cracked, touched — bereft of reason — all possessed, unhinged, unsettled in one’s mind — insensate, reasonless, beside oneself, demented, daft — phrenzied†, frenzied, frenetic — possessed, possessed with a devil — deranged, maddened, moonstruck — shatterpated† — mad-brained, scatter brained, shatter brained, crackbrained — touched, tetched [Coll.] — off one’s head. [behavior suggesting insanity] maniacal — delirious, lightheaded, incoherent, rambling, doting, wandering — frantic, raving, stark staring mad, stark raving mad, wild-eyed, berserk — delusional, hallucinatory. [behavior somewhat resembling insanity] corybantic†, dithyrambic — rabid, giddy, vertiginous, wild — haggard, mazed — flighty — distracted, distraught — depressed — agitated, hyped up — bewildered&c.(uncertain)[See Uncertainty]. mad as a March hare, mad as a hatter — of unsound mind &c.n. — touched in one’s head, wrong in one’s head, not right in one’s head, not in one’s right mind, not right in one’s wits, upper story — out of one’s mind, out of one’s wits, out of one’s skull [Coll.], far gone, out of one’s senses — not in one’s right mind. fanatical, infatuated, odd, eccentric — hypped†, hyppish† — spaced out [Coll.]. imbecile, silly, &c.[See Imbecility folly].Adv. like one possessed.
How many times do is “Frenzy” use as an adjective to describe Christmas shopping experiences or “Feeding Frenzy” or “Idiocy” – there is always the topic of “Are we become dumber?” Common Sense does seem to be a harder intelligence to come by in today’s society. And Fanaticism – Is that not what brought us Star Wars or Harry Potter. Doesn’t fanaticism come from imagination? With out imagination, there would not be technology breakthroughs, books, children’s stories, camping ghost stories, or movies. So is insanity really sometimes the better way to be. Could insanity actually be normal? And normal to be insane?
Insanity’s antonyms are: clearness, common sense. How many people seem to display any common sense whatsoever? This leads to a theory of how to achieve happiness is in these words: Wisdom, and Understanding; which in turn, helps to prove that “The Truth will set you Free”! Normal to some, at first thought, seemed to be insanity because there is no such thing as normal. If society determines what is normal, and we can all agree that society is full of Christmas Frenzies, shopping frenzies, disorder, confusion, horrors, and paranoia’s then do I really want to strive to be what society says is normal? Normal is insane. Because normal does not exist. So those claiming to be normal are those that buy into what society tells us is normal and in my opinion is insane, literally and ironically. The appearance of normal is just a mask. The phrase “Ignorance is Bliss” proves the point – choosing to ignore the truth keeps those from excepting the truths. They cannot feel or experience the emotional pain that the truth can give.
The question is – How do most people live their lives? How does it make them feel to know they lie to themselves everyday in order to avoid the pain that comes with facing the truth. Life comes with good and bad experiences because, if they can face the negative experiences honestly, people will learn from past mistake for their personal growth. Those who chose to blame others are the ones who refuse to accept the truth it was their mistake, which cripples their personal growth.
If wisdom and understanding are the antonyms of insanity then why is it so hard for people to try and understand why the feel the way they do? Why do people not question why the world is the way that it is? Why do they try not to understand why they drink so much, or have affairs, or why they lost their job? It is because they would have to look in the mirror and be honest with themselves, which meant they can no longer blame their lifestyle on anyone else. People have the ability to realize and decide to take responsibility for their own action, deal with the regret, and then forgive themselves. It is difficult because of pride and egos.
To achieve true happiness, people need to find peace with themselves and either accept or change their life choices. To find peace, people must come to accept by understanding the situations that have brought the confusion and discomfort. To understand these situations is to seek out the truth within their own actions. It is a painful, but it is a process, which means there is an outcome. The outcome is resolution and peace is obtained. The ONLY way to achieve true happiness is to establish peace within themselves and the world they live in.
There is beautiful prayer that was wrote by a man named Reinhold Niebuhr in 1943. “The Serenity Prayer” begins “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Notice the words courage – opposite of fear and wisdom – the opposite of fear. Serenity – Peace.
Some choose to ignore what happens within their soul. They ignore the fact that they are the one to blame for their troubled soul because they know they could do something about it, and they choose to not to face it because of their pride or fear. This causes their internal guilt which fuels their need to continue to pretend that they are happy. One thing that every human being wants is to be in the constant state of happiness and bliss.
Finding happiness is the one thing all human beings have in common. Everyone fears pain. The only way they can escape pain is search for happiness. The problem is society finds happiness in things that are temporary and will not lead to pure long-lasting happiness. The things people seek are like band-aids covering a wound, which in reality needs stitches, a tourniquet for massive bleeding, or a make-shift sling for a broken arm. That is why temporary aids are found in bottle of alcohol and pills, needles, powders, TV, gambling, work, and shopping. This is where addiction comes from. Loveless marriages normally become addicted their children or work. Addiction is not something that is illegal or has a anonyomis club for. It can be anything that is used to mask pain. The band-aid is used to avoid the things that eat away at your soul.
As soon as one stops for the day, they feel this emptiness inside like a hole needing to be filled. It hurts and is so overwhelmingly uncomfortable human being’s survival instinct kicks in, and that is when people start cleaning base boards, reorganizing closets, grab a glass of wine, smoke a cigarette, take a pill, or turn on the TV. The minute they stop cleaning or turn off the TV that emptiness comes back. One glass of wine, cigarette, or pill turns to two, three, four, etc. On the drive home, there is so much excitement about the new stuff, but it is a fleeting moment called the “shopping high.” Those who choose to go shopping, the rush and excitement is gone once the new stuff is unpacked, even if it is the groceries, and the empty void returns. It is the same as getting drunk or high on drugs comes guilt. Especially if you know you did not have the money to spend on those items. Sometimes shopping addiction can turn into grocery shopping because there is no guilt because it is easier to rationalize. Guilt may set in when the food goes to waste because the shopping was the band-aid and cooking the food turns into a task that people may not have actually thought about following through with. People think that these things will make them happy when in truth/reality, it only fuels the pain and need to seek happiness even more because as the pain grows, so does the need for happiness.
You can move half way around the world, thinking your life will be different and will find happiness. Things might feel great in the beginning. A new place, new friends, new job, but again once all that newness wears off just like the shopping sprees or the newness of a relationship. You will soon be confronted with your inner self. You cannot run from yourself. Happiness can only come from within.
Jessica Nile Films 