Are You Normal ?
That was the question during a therapy meeting. What do you consider to be "normal".
"NOT ME," screeched my amused brain. Tongue in cheek, of course. Not me.
Today there is wide acceptance that everyone has that little thing that sets them apart from the rest. A quirk, a chip on the shoulder, a scar, or a genetic make-up. Yet there seems to be a mainstream of what people consider to be normal.
My mind wandered off to a poem ( see below) that I heard, entreating with 'normal day' to make itself known to the writer. It often makes me think of how little we appreciate what we call "mundane" (the word itself having a deprecatory note to it).
One, by one, the members were asked to state if they considered themselves normal and all having issues they were dealing with at some point. I couldn't, for the life of me, fit within anyone's category at all. There was nobody I could quite identify with, although there were many common denominators.
The whole conundrum triggered a series of musings as to what might constitute "normal" in my life.
I never really fit in. I don't belong. And no, it is not a problem with me and I do not need fixing. I think that instinctively, I shun "normality" - the whole idea of moving along with the crowd, aligning myself. I don't conform.
Normality can have its pleasantries - waking up, fulfilling one's work day, dinner, doing whatever hobby one has committed to do, going to bed. Weekends spent, as one does - boating, picnics, theatre, the lot. For yours truly, normality is engaging in whatever the day has set up for me. No working day is like the other, but there is some pattern to it.
Anything that has any semblance of a routine has overtones of boring for me, except if it has wheels, wings or sails, or is otherwise creative.
Through my journey, however, I have had to admit that normality of sorts acts as an important anchor to the basic tenets of one's life - family, friends, work, home and all that one holds dear. My own journey has taught me that "normality" is not mundanity and that my normal is very different from that which mainstream humanity calls normal. In my strife to always achieve a higher sense of being, I have accepted that life, for me, is ever changing. This stone gathers no moss.
To this individual, normal is fulfilling one's duties - not only to others but to oneself, where one is not undergoing any major event or experience. Any day that does not bring about any remarkable happening is normal, no matter how non-routine, non-conformist and non-ordinary it might seem to the outsider.
Many have posed the question to me about time-management or about how adventurous I am. I can never say I fit in a crowd. I don't really, even if I am part of it. Where I am an active member, I am vocal and make sure to make my presence felt because I care about whatever I decide to involve myself in, but somehow, "one of them" never really fits, whether I want it or not.
For the greater part, we might find that we "look for things to worry about" in order to step away from daily routine, the drudgery of daily life, however unhealthy that quest might seem. It takes conscious effort to sit back with the idea that it is acceptable to relax and to appreciate what one has in life, without creating problems to be concerned about.
"NOT ME," screeched my amused brain. Tongue in cheek, of course. Not me.
Today there is wide acceptance that everyone has that little thing that sets them apart from the rest. A quirk, a chip on the shoulder, a scar, or a genetic make-up. Yet there seems to be a mainstream of what people consider to be normal.
My mind wandered off to a poem ( see below) that I heard, entreating with 'normal day' to make itself known to the writer. It often makes me think of how little we appreciate what we call "mundane" (the word itself having a deprecatory note to it).
“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.”
One, by one, the members were asked to state if they considered themselves normal and all having issues they were dealing with at some point. I couldn't, for the life of me, fit within anyone's category at all. There was nobody I could quite identify with, although there were many common denominators.
The whole conundrum triggered a series of musings as to what might constitute "normal" in my life.
I never really fit in. I don't belong. And no, it is not a problem with me and I do not need fixing. I think that instinctively, I shun "normality" - the whole idea of moving along with the crowd, aligning myself. I don't conform.
Normality can have its pleasantries - waking up, fulfilling one's work day, dinner, doing whatever hobby one has committed to do, going to bed. Weekends spent, as one does - boating, picnics, theatre, the lot. For yours truly, normality is engaging in whatever the day has set up for me. No working day is like the other, but there is some pattern to it.
Anything that has any semblance of a routine has overtones of boring for me, except if it has wheels, wings or sails, or is otherwise creative.
Through my journey, however, I have had to admit that normality of sorts acts as an important anchor to the basic tenets of one's life - family, friends, work, home and all that one holds dear. My own journey has taught me that "normality" is not mundanity and that my normal is very different from that which mainstream humanity calls normal. In my strife to always achieve a higher sense of being, I have accepted that life, for me, is ever changing. This stone gathers no moss.
To this individual, normal is fulfilling one's duties - not only to others but to oneself, where one is not undergoing any major event or experience. Any day that does not bring about any remarkable happening is normal, no matter how non-routine, non-conformist and non-ordinary it might seem to the outsider.
Many have posed the question to me about time-management or about how adventurous I am. I can never say I fit in a crowd. I don't really, even if I am part of it. Where I am an active member, I am vocal and make sure to make my presence felt because I care about whatever I decide to involve myself in, but somehow, "one of them" never really fits, whether I want it or not.
For the greater part, we might find that we "look for things to worry about" in order to step away from daily routine, the drudgery of daily life, however unhealthy that quest might seem. It takes conscious effort to sit back with the idea that it is acceptable to relax and to appreciate what one has in life, without creating problems to be concerned about.
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