May The Madness Be With You.

Deepa, ,

In a small town there was piece of land. Barren and not utilized. A mad man saw this land. It looked good enough for him to spend his time in. He made a small bed for himself with some old clothes and moved in. He roamed around the streets during the day and returned at night. He would bring some food along with him. After eating, he diligently dug a hole and buried all the leftovers into it. This process continued for some months.

In due course, the seeds that were buried in the ground started to sprout and the barren land showed signs of vegetation. The green patch slowly spread across and changed the place beyond recognition. The community center claimed the ownership of that piece of land and decided to develop it into a community farm land. The boundaries were clearly marked and the gates were locked during night hours.

The poor madman lost his shelter. But since he was mad, it did not bother him. He went to another town in search of some place to rest. During the first farmer’s market that was organized by the community center, some kids wanted to find out how this barren land got converted into a beautiful farmland. They were shocked when they traced it down to the actions of the madman. They asked all the elders in the town why they had not thought of this idea themselves.

The answers that the kids collected were summarised into the following:
They did not have the time or money.
They thought nothing would grow there.
Their parents told them it has always been a barren land.
They were not sure if that was permitted.
They thought it would be a difficult task.

The kids put up posters in different places which read:

An unsound mind can perhaps hear more than a sound mind. 

That day, a madman’s ignorance and madness changed the perspective of many in the town. In the closing speech by the head of the community center, he quoted Robin Williams and said : ” You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.”

As I look at my life, I can identify many such barren lands which I left untouched and unexplored because of the acquired intelligence which gave me reasons enough to not venture into it. The madman in my story made me aware of it.

This new year, I am hoping that I am able to preserve that little spark of madness. I do not want my sound mind to stop me from hearing the many voices from within.

May the madness be with you all!

Published by Deepa

21 Comments

  3. So true, I often think our own ‘good sense’ can talk us out of doing things that could be interesting opportunities. 🙂

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  4. You ask me how I became a madman. It happened thus:

    One day, long before many gods were born, I woke from a deep sleep and found all my masks were stolen — the seven masks I have fashioned and worn in seven lives, — I ran maskless through the crowded streets shouting, “Thieves, thieves, the cursed thieves.”

    Men and women laughed at me and some ran to their houses in fear of me.

    And when I reached the market place, a youth standing on a house-top cried, “He is a madman.” I looked up to behold him; the sun kissed my own naked face for the first time. For the first time the sun kissed my own naked face and my soul was inflamed with love for the sun, and I wanted my masks no more. And as if in a trance I cried, “Blessed, blessed are the thieves who stole my masks.”

    Thus I became a madman.

    And I have found both freedom and safety in my madness; the freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us.

    But let me not be too proud of my safety. Even a Thief in a jail is safe from another thief.

    ~ Khalil Gibran

    …Illustration from ”The madman, his parables and poems”, Khalil Gibran

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