The Right Kind of Crazy
Reflections on the Nurse with the Rocks
By Matt Tangney 12/16/20
“Did you get a gift from me on Friday?” said the woman at the front door with a basket of small stones. I was mystified. I hadn’t been in on Friday, but heard something about this. I knew that I wanted no part of it. I wanted to lie, to shrug it off and to keep walking. I knew I couldn’t. She was the nurse at the school where I work, and she was giving people rocks. In fairness, she called them crystals. Each one was bagged up with a little slip of paper. “Take one at random,” she said, “the stones tend to find the person who needs them.”
One of the other teachers walking in engaged with her. “”Are you a big fan of stone energy? What’s your go-to stone?” It was one of those times I was happy to be wearing a COVID mask, because I know I must have smirked. I could imagine this turning into a Monty Python skit really quickly. But she was so completely sincere. She meant what she said. She had come in to work early so that she could do something nice for her co-workers. I might be a cynic, but I’m an idealistic cynic. How can I poo poo somebody going out of their way to do something nice for others?
I chatted briefly with her, and pocketed my new stone. I got Citrine, by the way. “Its radiant energy cultivates positivity, growth and abundance.” Those who know me well will certainly snicker at how much I am in need of those qualities. I continued on to my office and started to get down to work. There was no doubt in my mind that she is a little bit crazy, but then again who isn’t. Especially this year. She might be crazy, but I think she is the kind of crazy we need more of.
We’ve all seen too much of the wrong kind of crazy. There’s politician the-rules-apply-to-everyone-except-me crazy. There’s psycho gunman the-world-will-be-better-if-I-go-shoot-a-bunch-of-people crazy. There’s celebrity you-should-listen-to-my-opinions-because-I’m-good-at-acting crazy. And of course there’s regular people with if-I-was-in-charge-everything-would-be-better crazy. (Some people might claim I’m one of those.) Most people have some kind of crazy about them, and in most cases it’s more negative than positive.
But then there’s nurse-with-the-rocks crazy. This is the kind of crazy we need more of in our world. She thinks that certain naturally occurring things can have a positive impact on your day and the way you lead your life. She gets up early, puts things in a baggie, adds a note to it, and is prepared to greet her co-workers with a gift, a smile, and an explanation. I suspect there’s no actual validity to this. I do not believe the rock in my pocket will change my life for the better. In fact, I think the most likely outcome is that I forget to take the rock out of my pocket, and it destroys my washing machine, and negatively impacts my life. However, my day is better because somebody gave me a rock this morning. The rock won’t improve my life, or “cultivate positivity” for me, but the person who gave it to me will.
We are surrounded by crazy people, and I suspect that the craziest ones are probably the ones who think they aren’t crazy at all. I know I have a lot of negative thoughts and habits. I know that I’m more than a little crazy. But I also know that life will be a little better for everyone if we focus a little less on the bad crazies among us, and celebrate the right kind of crazy when we see it.
