March Prompts on Willful Delusion

A list of 8 questions for opting into delulu mode

The last couple weeks have felt riddled with moments where I left a conversation, or a meeting, or an exchange feeling…flabbergasted. (So much that earlier today when I started typing a text message with the words “what are” auto-complete filled in the end of the sentence as: “what are they smoking?”)

I’ve been thinking about delusions, and the lies I tell myself, and the blind spots in my interpretation of experiences.

Fictional Self-Help Book Titles Painted by Johan Deckmann

To be clear, I don’t think it’s possible for anyone’s idea of themself to be wholly aligned with its actuality, and nor should it be. But I’m curious about when to examine and when to laugh at the absurdity of it all; when to actively enact change and when to admit you prefer blinders; when to call your own bluff.

ie: I have meditated approximately 10 seconds in the year 2024, but I consider myself in tune with a ~ deeper ~ sense of self-awareness. I am confident I’m capable of many things I have never attempted in the literal or abstract. I suppose I err in the direction of cynical optimism in that I don’t tend to romanticize what’s missing. “Keep your eyes on the donut, not on the hole,” is a creed attributed (I think) to David Lynch.

To that end, this month’s prompts consider the idea of delusion in veritable forms—as highest art form and/or toxic downfall, blind faith or well-intended narcissism. Pick your poison and proceed: