Crazy Animals

There's a polar bear in a zoo near me and it's nuts. You can tell because it does the same lap, the same path over and over in it's enclosure. It even wags it's head the same way on every circuit. This is a tremendous shame and effectively removes the sense of wonder and awe you ought to feel when seeing one of nature's greatest creations in the flesh. Polar bears shouldn't make you feel pity.

The bear in question is suffering from a lack of stimulation in it's environment and this affliction is not restricted sadly to those in literal cages.

It can strike any of us. I know working in a home office I've certainly had my fair share of stir crazy over the years.

I think this is understandable though and in a sense we are in better shape than our friend the bear, for we understand the condition and can hopefully preclude it's onset.

Our human spirit requires some degree of dynamic. Look at our history. When we are left to our own devices in a static situation what do we do ? We kill and try to dominate one another. We display territoriality and indulge in all kinds of political activities, positive and harmful. As a species we are about growing - our knowledge, our experience and contribution.

Now let's get a little intimate.

The key to avoid going truly around the bend is to understand ourselves well enough to see when we start to exhibit signs of needing some new stimulation. Note I said need, not want. I might like some changes well before I actually need them to be in place. That's usually a sign of good judgment more so than a critical path item. When I need change I may be well down the path of already being deep in a rut, and have no vision as to how to get out of it. Then I need it. We can provide help to those around us that we see others in those situations - recommending a proverbial and literal change of scenery. But it's ourselves we ought to be aware of to avoid the outcome in the first place.

Ask yourself, "What am I bringing into my environment to stimulate a new way of looking at things, or to change my behavior?", "What have I approached differently (on purpose) to help me see new perspectives?" or even "Can I do the same task in a different way, and end up with different results - and what's the implication of that ?".

Each of us owns our own sense of sanity, and being smarter than the average bear we ought to be able to help ourselves to avoid being in a cage- even one of our own design.