The Artwork of My Brain

“’But I don’t want to go among mad people’, Alice remarked. ‘Oh, you can’t help that’, said the Cat. ‘We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad’. ‘How do you know I’m mad?’, said Alice. ‘You must be’, said the Cat. ‘or you wouldn’t have come here’.” ~Alice In Wonderland

Looking at the world around me, the world we live in, I feel we all must be mad. If we weren’t we wouldn’t be here still. 

There is a thin line between being sane and insane I think. Many are uncomfortable with that thought. A thought of a larger boundary keeping the two groups of people apart appears to be safer, secure, normal.

Truth is, we all walk that line at some point in time in our lives. It is a tightrope dance testing our skills and abilities. Sometimes we fall. With falling we can get back on, or we can walk away. That choice is an individual choice.

Our bodies are so complex. The brain is the captain of this ship, the overseer of our temple. Information is constantly being received, analyzed, and sent back out. Storing information from experiences and the source of our thoughts, moods and emotions.

The fact that there are billions of interconnected cells, little highways, allowing us to be critical thinkers, create art, is amazing. 

The chemistry of the brain is a beautiful work of art by nature. However, it is this chemistry that can produce artwork that is only beautiful in the eye of the beholder.

“Brain chemistry and mental illness. All the brain's functions depend on the normal action of neurotransmitters. An excess or deficiency of a specific transmitter or group of transmitters may lead to a serious disorder in thought, mood, or behaviour. For example, studies have suggested that chemical imbalances in the brain play a significant role in several types of mental illnesses. There is some evidence that the brain produces too much dopamine in a severe mental illness called schizophrenia. This excess of dopamine may create emotional disturbances and cause a person to see things and hear sounds that do not exist.”  http://www.a2zpsychology.com/articles/biology_of_the_brain_page2.php

I have been reading facts about the brain tonight, everything from weight to oxygen use. Overwhelmingly brillant and beautiful. As I learn and understand more the hows and whys of my chemical makeup, it will be easier to see the artwork that my brain has produced for me. Mental illness and all.

I am choosing to admire both sides of my line. To admire and love them both. For we all must be a little mad, in some way.