Normal.
People that use this word as way of self-praise, trying to glorify their boring, dull, flat lifestyles get on my tits.
Slaves to society, prisoners of the system, in the same monotonous job within the same grey colourless four walls, in loveless marriages with children that they didn’t actually want but had anyway, because….”that’s what we do…. it’s normal”. Conventional codswollop. Pah! Just the sound of the word sounds drab…. Normal… Nor…mal….. what a boring word and what a boring way to describe yourself, let alone being proud about it.
You can guarantee that it is those that describe themselves and their actions as ‘normal’ that are the first to pass judgement on others. “Can you believe what he’s done? That’s not normal!” Just typing these words I can hear the chorus of thousands of ghosts from the past, their voices amplifying their disapproval over whatever it is that should dare to be different to them.
What we tend to forget is that what is normal to one is totally unnatural to another. A City Trader starting the working day at 7am, rising at 5.30am, running in to work, training for the next Iron Man or triathlon, ready to tackle the heated day on the trading floor, the fluctuation of adrenalin pumping through his veins throughout the day and finishing the day off in the bar. To him, this is normal but to a long-distance lorry driver, who spends days at a time in his truck, alone and sedentary, this lifestyle is nowhere near ‘normal’ for him. To a High Court Judge, it is perfectly ‘normal’ to sit behind the bench and sentence people to years of imprisonment but it could also be perfectly ‘normal’ for him to spend his evenings locked in Miss Whiplash’s dungeon, his penance for his every day life. To Miss Whiplash, it is normal to humiliate powerful men into submission and get paid a hefty sum for her time.
My point is, there is no such thing as ‘normal’ and the sooner we all eradicate this awful word from our self-description, the better. Then maybe we can begin to progress with our understanding of each other. You usually find that those that are the most open-minded are those that have chosen to deviate from the ‘normal’ path at some point in their life. Even if they return to ‘conventional,’ they will always be less judgemental of others through their own experience. Once we stop seeing our own way as ‘normal’ we can start being a little more conscientious of others.
I think those of us that are a little eccentric should start waging a war against Normal Supremacism, being tarnished with this mentality, the world will just be a colourless, drab place. That’s the way we’re heading. So I say stand up! Be proud! Be as abnormal as you can be and be what and who you are!
Peace and Love to all the weirdo’s out there – you make the world a better place!
RRx
Life Begins at 35 