A few days ago, a friend of mine made a simple comment on my Facebook-page that said: “You’re the most insane person I know, yet you seem perfectly happy with it. I’m envious!”

I told him that we all have different definitions of what insanity is.

I know that I’ve analyzed this before, but it keeps coming back somehow. This is the way I look at it:

Our days are limited. Every single precious day is a gift (and yeah, I know that it sounds like a Hallmark card).

Many people spend those precious days doing anything but what they truly love to do. Afraid of sticking out, afraid of what “people might think”, afraid of what family and friends might say, or just plain insecurity or a different way of looking at things.

They spend every evening watching meaningless reality shows, admiring people who do nothing of value with their lives. The rich and the famous, women who live for botox and shopping. Kardashians, Hollywood-wives. All those people.

That’s fine, to kill a few hours of your time watching TV or going to the local bar getting drunk to numb your feelings of desperation, dissatisfaction and frustration. We all know how everyday life can be sometimes.

My point is – why settle for that? Why not just take a leap and BE CRAZY, if it makes you happy? Why am I considered “insane” when it’s NOT considered insane to NOT live your dreams?

Last week I found out that Yngwie Malmsteen and Gus G would be playing at Miami Beach on the day that I arrive in Miami (a few days before the cruise, wanted to adjust so I don’t get jetlagged on the actual cruise). Without as much as thinking, I got myself a ticket for that. I had already been cursing the fact that Yngwie would play on a different cruise than “mine”, so this opportunity – along with Gus, who I’ve seen all over the planet, literally, was fate’s way of saying: “Now, GO!”

The problem was that my original flight with Swiss would land in Miami at 6PM, leaving me very little time to make it though customs and immigration on time to get to the show, and I didn’t want to risk it. What to do?
You do the INSANE thing. Buy another plane ticket. Well knowing that you won’t get your money back for the first one, because you didn’t buy an extra insurance that would make it possible to cancel your reservation until the last minute. I never thought I would have a reason to, so I didn’t waste that extra money. Instead I ended up losing ALL of it – yet I’m HAPPY! How about that?

Because I will get to see Yngwie and Gus, and get the perfect start of my stay in Miami, I can’t think of anything bad about it. Yeah, I lost some money, and it’s not like it grows on trees, but… it’s just money, you can’t take it with you – if you know what I mean…

I’m not careless, I just look at money as something that has no value really, unless you use it to survive, first and foremost and secondly, to make your time on this planet as worthwhile as possible. And I have. So – it’s all good.

People have laughed and called me crazy for going to South Korea over a weekend to see Ozzy. But I just wanted to see Ozzy – and I love travel, so to me, I did exactly what I wanted to do. My goal wasn’t to go and be a tourist. My goal was to see a show, enjoy the adventure of travel, which I love no matter WHAT the destination is, and maybe meet some people before going home. You can do a lot in a very short time, that’s something I’ve learned over the years.

Many years ago, I did other crazy things, such as selling my furniture because I wanted to see a few more Whitesnake-shows in the UK. It was right before Christmas, I didn’t have money and I would have to use the little that I had on Christmas presents. Yet I was really buzzin’ after the Whitesnake-shows I had just seen in Sweden, so I had to make it happen, one way or another.

The solution was – sell the furniture. I didn’t need it anyway, just the couch, the bed and a table. I was good. The rest was capital. I could always buy new stuff later. And off I went. I didn’t have a hotel booked, I had no idea how to get to Southampton from London, I knew nothing really – I just got on a plane and went there. The rest worked itself out. I never regretted that for one second.

When you look back on your life someday, you won’t be thinking of the money you spent, you will remember the memories and how it made you feel. And that’s all that matters.

Music is my greatest passion in life. This rock’n’roll gypsy-life makes it worth BEING here. :) And I know it can all be gone tomorrow. If I lose my job, I will lose this life that makes me happy. I will have to adapt to a different kind of life, you just never know. All you’ve got is what’s here and NOW.

Maybe I’m childish, maybe I’m insane, and maybe I’m just not like “most” people, but we all have our weirdness that makes us who we are. I was never lucky in love, but I’m lucky in LIFE. I’ve seen the world, I’ve met amazing people, I’ve felt ALIVE, I’ve followed my dreams and done what made me happy – something I still do and will continue to do as long as I’m able.

If that makes me insane, then I will carry that brand with pride! :D