Straight jacket vs straight talk

    People often confuse passionate with crazy…especially where I’m concerned. Usually I laugh it off, but now I have a blog to vent my frustrations, (or is it to share my wisdom?;) Either way, you’re about to get a piece of my mind. 
     I’ve been thinking about the myriad of responses I could come back with when people call me crazy, but the one I like the most is this: “Is it not crazier to walk through life with little to no emotion or excitement about anything? To never vary your routine? To never express true joy? To never feel true joy because you don’t allow yourself to be that happy or feel that much?"
    Now I know some of you are thinking, “But if I allow myself that High, what will the Low look like?” Guess what: you are in control of what they look like! You make a choice everyday (whether you realize it or not) to be happy or bla or pissed. Being aware of that choice is half the battle. I’m not saying you always have to be happy. No one is happy all the time. But 90% of the time wouldn’t be so terrible, would it? 
    The others of you are saying, "Oh, she's just naive." That's another adjective I get a lot: naive. It may be true. I'm eager for enlightment, so please - tell me why my baseline shouldn't be on the good side or high end of the scale? I'm dying to know why even keel is so coveted. Because you can count on them for consistency? Yeah, that's mostly true of bowel movements, too - so what? And for the record, most people do count on me being the upbeat one all the time. 
    I guess I always laugh it off because I feel a little sorry for these people. What must a blase world be like? Miserable, I assume. To go to work and not look forward to it…for thirty years?! Why do so many of us do that? To settle for a relationship that’s OK instead of one that thrills us. I confess – I did that for way too long – which is why I’m so appreciative of my fabulous husband! Or to show the most emotion when we’re enraged by traffic or excited by sports…as if those are the important things in life. I just don’t get it. 
     So to all you folks who think my excitement about dancing or food or soda;) is misplaced - I say, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you don’t have as many things in life that make you jump for joy. But I truly hope you’ll find them someday. Who knows? You may find them on the dance floor.  I’ll see you on the hardwood… and I will be the one jumping up and down.