NOTES FROM THE AWARENESS: 829

Normal is feeling like yourself.

Society has consensus ideas about what normal means. It’s normal to want a romantic partner, to have a steady job, to want a social life, to have children, to eat a common diet. In other words, it’s normal to be like most other people.

When our behavior our ideas differ from those of others, we can be judged, castigated, or penalized. Society tends to believe it benefits from having all members being similar. And that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

We’re not all cast from the same mold. And that’s as it should be. The infinite variety among members of the same species is what makes like interesting. Divergent genes make us generally healthier. The differences among us make for robust life.

A normal life, for each of us, is a life in which we honor what feels good and right to us. Provided that is, that our idea of normal isn’t self-destructive or harmful to others. As long as we love and care for ourselves and behave and think in ways that are healthy for us, we’re normal. Normal for us, that is. And that’s what counts.

Today’s message reminds me that when I don’t feel like myself, I’m likely trying to conform to another’s or my own idea of what normal for me should be. When I honor my own feelings, desires, and needs—provided they don’t harm me or another intentionally—I’m normal.

Please reflect and share. What does normal mean to you?