A Saner Humanity

“The condition of alienation, of being asleep, of being unconscious, of being out of one’s mind, is the condition of the normal man. Society highly values its normal man. It educates children to lose themselves and to become absurd, and thus to be normal. Normal men have killed perhaps 100,000,000 of their fellow normal men in the last fifty years”

wrote psychiatrist R.D. Laing* back in 1967. His words cut to the core of modern society. We have normalised insanity – numbing ourselves to the absurdity around us and within us.

And what is this absurdity? It is the mindset that allows us to go about our days oblivious to the harm we inflict on ourselves, on others and on the planet. That lets corporations prioritise profits over people and presidents sanction wars in distant lands. It is the tendency of “normal” folks to follow orders and not question what’s going on.

The result? Suffering on a colossal scale. Over 100 million lives lost in wars over the last century. Millions more struggling with poverty, oppression or mental anguish. And now, climate catastrophe looming, seemingly unheeded.

Healing this insanity in humanity starts with awareness. Once we wake up from the slumber of conformity and see our society’s sickness clearly, our priorities begin to shift.

The next step is fixing our broken systems. Our companies, governments and institutions shape society’s norms – and are shaped by them. Transforming them is key to creating positive change. Employee-owned businesses focus on worker dignity and joy over profits. Progressive groups across the world are anchoring policy in ethics, not ideology. Reform movements centered on wisdom and compassion are gaining momentum.

At the individual level too, we can choose to nurture sanity by cultivating presence of mind. Turning our attention inwards, taming our egoistic tendencies and consciously spreading goodwill. Spiritual practices like meditation help us become less reactive and more response-able.

The challenges today seem daunting. But together, we can build a world where care, justice and sustainability are the new normal. As we each walk the path towards inner freedom from fear and delusion, our collective consciousness grows saner. May more of us wake up from this absurd nightmare so we can co-create the beautiful dream.

Will you join me?

* R.D. Laing (1927-1989) was an unconventional Scottish psychiatrist who radically challenged the medical model of psychiatry in the 1960s-70s. Deeply critical of diagnosis and medication, Laing viewed madness as an existential crisis rather than illness. He founded communal centers applying alternative therapies for healing over labeling. Articulated in books like The Divided Self, his controversial ideas on mental distress as an introspective process rather than biological disease created lasting impact. Laing catalysed more humanistic attitudes in mental healthcare.

Further Reading

Laing, R.D. (1967). The politics of experience and the bird of paradise. Penguin.