I think far too often people use the word 'crazy' in a way too negative context; almost like it is a 'bad' word.

The word crazy can be used to describe someone with poor mental health, to disparage disliked ideas, to dismiss an opinion, or to describe a frightening situation. Yet crazy does not always need to be a bad thing. In fact, I think sometimes a little bit of crazy can be very helpful in all kinds of different ways and actually be a good thing.

Human Advancement

You don't have to be a genius to realize how famous eccentrics, whose ideas were shunned and dismissed by mainstream society, have achieved spectacular things over the centuries. Do just a little Google searching and you will have an extensive list of renowned scientists, inventors, writers, artists, politicians, religious figures, business entrepreneurs, explorers, actors, musicians, composers, poets and comedians whose works were initially criticized and ridiculed and often called 'crazy'.

Yet, these very same so-called crazy people have improved the world we live in because their ideas were outside of the proverbial box, or danced to the beat of a different drum. It is more often that not, that people who think eccentrically often help humankind to develop and evolve the most. There are so many examples of eccentrics furthering human development and evolution throughout history.

Take for example the Wright brothers; Orville and Wilbur Wright. They were rejected as crazy madmen for attempting to make a plane fly through the air. They persevered despite popular opinion, and eventually achieved their ambition. Now we take flight for granted. Virtually no destination on the globe is out of reach, the airline industry generates billions of dollars of revenue each year and in the near future, flight beyond our planet will be in reach of the masses.

Here is yet another example of crazy thinking leading to immeasurable advancement; Christopher Columbus and his discovery of America. Columbus was scorned and called crazy for claiming the world was round as opposed to being flat. When Columbus finally did discovered the Americas, he proved his theory of a round world to be correct.

And for a more recent example - we have Elon Musk. So many people have been know for calling Elon and his many ideas (Tesla, SpaceX, Mars mission etc) as being crazy. Today, as one of the clearest and most undeniable examples of human advancement, we have highly desirable mass produced electric cars from Tesla and numerous successful launches and landings from SpaceX (which are paving the way for Elon's vision for human colonization of Mars).

There is no doubt that we still need more of these so-called crazy people and their unconventional ways of thinking. We need their special cases of crazy which tend to lead to technological, scientific and artistic progress in ways most could never imagine.

"If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you're going to be locked up." ~ H.S. Thompson

Life Skills

If you are alive (which I know you are) you know that life is not always easy. Instead of being easy, it is more often than not, complicated and sometimes very challenging. It takes strong character and sometimes, even an unusual perspective to get through these difficult and trying times. If you are able to remain optimistic and avoid losing hope, the lemons life tosses at you can seem just a little sweeter.

Some people think that remaining cheerful and determined despite grim odds is craziness, delusional and unrealistic. Yet, often hope is exactly what is needed when faced with what life throws at us. It is always better to lift your chin and smile (and if you must) laugh at life and all the painful hurdles it throws your way, rather than crying in a corner and lamenting about it.

This is when being just a little crazy can be a real good thing. A good thing for you and if so, a good thing for those around you. When life throws you lemons; make lemonade and invite the neighbors to your yard!

"If being crazy means living life as if it matters, then I don't mind being completely insane." ~ Kate Winslet

Enriched Human Experience

I am convinced that everybody knows and possibly even 'loves' an oddball character. This is probably why so many eccentric celebrities over the year are so well known and loved. Think of Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, Rowan Atkinson, Björk, Johnny Depp, Marilyn Manson and Lady Gaga to name a few, and look at how loved they were/are by their fans.

However, you do not have to be famous to be crazy (nor do the crazy always become famous). Everyone knows a batty old lady who has twenty cats, or a man who sincerely believes in an outlandishly farfetched conspiracy theory, or the lady with the extravagant dress-sense or that person who sits, day in and day out on a street corner, seeming thinking of nothing and simply watching the world pass by.

Meeting these eccentric individuals can enrich your human experience. Learning to understand and accept people who think or behave differently opens the mind and broadens the horizons, by letting a little crazy come in. These crazy people make the world a more interesting place to live in and often times, challenge us to look at ourselves in a whole new way.

Now, I really don't expect you to wake up tomorrow morning and need you to release your special case of crazy on the world in all its fury and might. But maybe, just maybe you can consider letting the people around you experience just a little crazy from time to time... who know, maybe you too can change the world like so many other crazies have done before!

"I want to continue being crazy; living my life the way I dream it, and not the way the other people want it to be." ~ Paulo Coelho

Do you see yourself as little crazy? Do you know someone who is and who's life is enriched your human experience or bringing advancement to life? Please feel free to share below, I would love to read your stories - enrich this human experience!

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