Two years ago, I asked some friends the rules of normality. Let’s list more rules on how society expect us to behave, so not only can we leave a legacy to the next generation (see? That’s how THEY wanted us to become!) but we also can be very attentive in not following patterns that other are always trying to impose on us.
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My inventory of normality is in one of Warrior of Light Online newsletter, but I put it again here. Please check the post Sept 14 at 12:46 PM
So, I’m looking forward to hear from you your rules to be considered a normal person. By the way, this is in black and white, not normal, but very proper for this post.
Thank you!
Paulo
DON’T WORRY ABOUT YOUR ENGLISH (AS I DON’T WORRY ABOUT MINE). HOWEVER, IF YOU DON’T FEEL COMFORTABLE, POST YOUR LIST IN YOUR MOTHER THONGE / NÃO SE PREOCUPE COM SEU INGLES, TODOS VAO ENTENDER. MAS SE SENTIR-SE MELHOR, COLOQUE EM PORTUGUES / NO SE PREOCUPE SU INGLES, PERO SI DESEA, PUEDES POSTAR EN ESPANOL
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Normal is sharing the believes of the group: what is good and what is bad, what is desirable and what is undesirable. That means sharing the prejudices. But it also means acting like other members of the group do, in accordance with the norms and attitutes, even ideology. It means doing great acts or the most evil deeds.
I feel normal is addictive and can quickly swallow you in. It steels so much of you and how you want to be or become. Normal is one life wasted replaced with another. My grandmother normal world was in a village in Africa, where she was married by 13 and bare children by 14. Though, all who knew her thought of her smart, quick, witty and strong. Yet she had to play her part in her society she was her husband’s shadow. My mother who had it better than her mother, had to follow her mother’s footsteps. Accepting the curse of being the shadow of someone else. Because time had moved and time has let a woman to work her norm taught her work and she GREAT at it. (It even scares my dad she was better.) But she was taught to fear, man, God, and sexuality. And now me, I went from my culture norm to the American way norm, work, work, make money, be stable, than retire and on top of that the African norm, take care of the family, get married and be a mother. Normal for me is fear of living, normal is a thief that is dressed as safe. Being normal is being mad and losing yourself and becoming a heard. The funny thing is in the end it’s a choice and in the end it becomes your fault.
Asmayit, Thank you for sharing. Your thoughts makes me feel the women in my family went through the same thing, and what makes me uncomfortable is it is fine with them. It is all they know. They put so much into this setup, that madness and shame is considered if it is not followed.
Being Normal is perceived as something or someone conforming to what society wants us to be – to do things the way they have been ordained to be (as per the rule book) Being normal is “Do in Rome as Romans do”.
vice versa then
Abnormal is someone who lays down his own rules. who makes his own path, who choses his own direction – its doesn’t matter if that path has not been treaded by others. To wear woolens in summers may be perceived as an abnormality, or taking shower with ice cold water in winters. However unless you do undertake such activities how can you challenge yourself to experience extraordinary.
Like in one your books – a prophet says that God at times wants us to challenge his will. we need to do that with society and to our self first.
Iqbal – One of the great thinker and writer of Asian sub continent says in one of his poems that one needs to elevate himself to the levels that God Himself ask you, as to what is your will. He goes on to say that we need to rise above what we consider normal for there are heights to conquer and places to go, for there are worlds beyond the stars that we see.
Normal is knowing exactly when to be “abnormal”….
When we start living on our own dogmas, on our principles, (provided we not harming any being), society may corner us and label us abnormal, but in actuality, we are not escaping normalcy, but escaping the fences the society has enclosed us in…
Normal is the perfect balance of a crazy, fun, quiet, sweet, mean, honest, fake, dishonest, loving, hating, stupid, intellegent…what else? If you’re only one, or more one than the other, or not a good mixture, then you are not normal. If you’re some and then some but not the others, then you feel lost and different then the rest, but not normal. in my opinion anyway…
Yes…And exactly WHAT is normality?
Being what they want you to be?
To be in my opinion is to accept what is expected.
Rashid Akeem: GREATNESS
Maybe I should settle for the ordinary
And come up just short of legendary
Maybe I should just be what they expect
And save the glory and greatness for the next
Should I just be another name that comes and goes
A ghost of the past that the future will never know
Or should I seek out what all men search for in life
Take the chance and roll the dice
And rise up and become noting but legendary
For death is forever and life is but temporary
Should I stray from the norm and seek out my own path
Coming from nothing like the phoenix that rose from the ash
Take the path of the righteous and brave away from the disbelieving and cowardly
For I cannot live a true and honest life being afraid of what wanted to be
Instead I will rid myself of the fears that I might not make it
And be the star that shines brighter than all and forever have greatness
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There is something called “divine madness”, people who do not seem “normal” or “unusual” according to society’s standards may very well possess a well-developed gift to share with the rest of humanity.
People who dismiss “uniqueness” as a sign of craziness or insanity may not notice the mistake they’re making when labeling someone as “strange”.
Everything is relative, what is “normal” or accepted in one place, may be considered “uncommon” or “non-standard” elsewhere.
Those who are labeled as “insane” because of the way they are or because they do not conform to what society expects from them know that they’re blessed with the gift of being different.
les quiero poner un ejemplo.
si en una casa habitan desde siempre 50 personas con defectos fisicos y mentales… y entre ellos verse asi como son no es nada del otro mundo…
y yo entro a esa casa me quedo con una duda…
aqui la anormal soy yo o ellos?
“Rules” suck. They do not allow us to be present in the moment. When I live my life according to rules, I feel dead and tired. If there is one rule to follow, it should be to rule with love, acceptance and without judgements.
problem with society is the list of rules &traditions which we have to follow…..in the book 11 minutes author says that love is possessing someone even when u dont possess him/her……this calls for freedom of love,expressions &emotions…but in actual we have ti supress our feelings and emotions for others….but isnt it required to maintain sum order in world,to be civilized & live peacefully….
what u want to say is the situation of perfectinism…..if all r honest &true to themselves &others….it will be a wondrful place….but reality bites and is much different….
Thank you Mr Coelhofor this ntereting topics. In my opinion normality is something that has not any exact definition. There are approximately 6bln people in th world in this case i think we can have so many forms of definition)))in one word i think that everyone count himself as a normal person. even killers,vanpires and etc,if we try to judge them saying that they are not normal i am sure they will find very useful evidents that will prove they don’t make something unnormal))it is just my opinion some people can think that it is not true))
very cooliophore!
sojieb
From Emerson’s essay, “On Self-Reliance”:
Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world. I remember an answer which when quite young I was prompted to make to a valued adviser, who was wont to importune me with the dear old doctrines of the church. On my saying, What have I to do with the sacredness of traditions, if I live wholly from within? my friend suggested, — “But these impulses may be from below, not from above.” I replied, “They do not seem to me to be such; but if I am the Devil’s child, I will live then from the Devil.” No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature. Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it. A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition, as if every thing were titular and ephemeral but he. I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions.
and dead societies….
I believe being ‘normal’ is realtive and is defined by the society you grow up in.As an example, pre-marital sex is no way near normalcy in India. But, its not so in other countries. Is being normal good or bad is a different debate altogether. Also, the definition of being Normal changes with time and generations.
My personal view is that being normal, in general, is whether you are in the common league of people around you, share the same ideologies. An atheist scientist’s views won’t be considered normal in a religious group of people but they will be respected somewhere else.
Being normal is just being a part of the crowd.
Another important question is : What does not being normal mean?
What we call “normal” changes everyday. The funny thing is, we all want to be normal. So we find ourselves constantly adapting our lives to be normal. I suppose it is just another one of our illusions that we chace after.
Take care everyone,
Betsy
the word normal confuses with the word common..
the first thing which clicked my mind hearin normal was common
a common life is one which society has decided for us…which we as society has done from generations like basic education job marriage etc…but one in few decides life for himself were he is clear, were he wants to help wants to learn wants to explore has faith believes in destiny and he lives a king size lyf…this king size is relative word the person find himself as king
I believe that the term NORMAL in our daily lives depends on how we percieve things. For me, living a normal life in which our society expects us to behave is so EASY and SIMPLE to explain.
Top most, is to be rationale in ALMOST all things that you do and decide. Second, act according to what you think is the RIGHTFUL thing to do. Thirdly, put some compassion & kindness when dealing to other people. Lastly and definitely not the least, be GOD-FEARING.
With these things, definitely you are NORMAL and way way impossible to labeled as an abnormal person *wink*
I will try to put it short and simple – for most of the people, being normal just means not to stand out, to walk with your head down and do whatever others want you to do. No free spirit, no creativity, no nothing…
The Madness of Being Normal:
That is, for me, the unending journey to SATISFACTION.
Dear Paulo,
Since kid, I was raised by my family to lead a normal pattern of life. Finish school, get a decent job, married and live happily ever after. 10 years I have led that way of life, and I cannot say I end up to this “Happily ever after”.
Now I want to get out, I want to live the way I want it, and still people against it. Is that how we are? Projected ourselves to the so-called social standard way of living?
Living normal is substance to Subjective mind. Only we can justify it. And we are the one who create our own happiness.
When we are truly happy, then we are living in normal live…
Celebration of Life, its ours, not society’s.
Great post Natalina!
Kisses.
Dear Natalina,
Your view is ideal. I agree with you that ‘we are ones who create our own happiness’ – although ‘getting out’ is not always a guarantee.
Stay happy.
Dear all,
Those who claim to be normal or abnormal worry me…
We’re all humans -part of nature. Is nature normal? We can’t say..
So either we’re all normal or we’re all abnormal..!
(However I do see that today “normal” is used to mean “common”).
To me being normal in this society means abandoning your true self. Being normal would mean being logical and think and act according to the “safe patterns” of thinking that society is imposing on us and not your soul’s feelings and insticts.. which is a total mistake for me..
Helen.
Helen.
“Sono due infatti i principali ostacoli alla conoscenza delle cose: la VERGOGNA che offusca l’animo, e la PAURA che, alla vista del pericolo, distoglie dalle imprese. La follia LIBERA da entrambe. Non vergognarsi mai e osare tutto: pochissimi sanno quale messi di vantaggi ne derivi.”
[Erasmo da Rotterdam - Elogio della Follia] ;-)
Well Dear, Lately Im reading your books and somehow im really attached to lessons can be learned through deep thinking of what you write. It is my first time to write here, and to tell you the truth im dying to be normal, I was raised in a family where I can recall sad moments more than happy ones, but we all acted that we are having a normal life full of happiness or joy. and now being married with one kid, he is my only happiness and still im not having a normal life, I act 24hrs even when i sleep.
we really forgot the real meaning of being normal since we did forget the real meaning of life.
I think we confuse “what is familiar” with what is normal.
What we learn in our social culture, religion, family,and school etc’ is learned.
When what is real and normal comes from our heart/soul.
This is our challenge in life to search for what is true to our soul.
Only then can we move on in life and achieve our goals in life.
The difficult part is challenging what is expected of us from others who believe that what is familiar is normal.
Carol
Being normal means living by books that I didn’t write.
Each day I write a page in my own book and live by that instead.
what a beautiful thought……..so aptly expressed..
It is quite easy to be abnormal.. defy society’s rules/laws but after a period of time when you see everyone around you .. you crave to be normal.. because you want to fit in ultimately. It is easy to say that being normal is following the sheep but being abnormal often leads to a lot of lonliness… for that reason atleast perhaps its best to be normal so long as you can recouperate from all that fakeness when you have your own “alone time”
Hey Daniel,thanks for replying. The energy should help us, not corrupt us :). Like I said, be YOURSELF , just don´t harm anybody by being yourself ;) ( harming does not mean that you should give up your dreams/ your personality because people might feel offended)…
well i´d call it stupidity xD
I say that being ‘normal’ equals being ‘average’ … average is a calculated middle value of various extremes so no need to expect it to exist as such in reality on it’s own.
In life I think we travel from extremes to extremes and logically we sometimes happen to strike ‘balance’ in between … or in other words we pass the average value … that’s the rare moment when we could be considered normal but it’s inevitable that it’s only a passing phase.
Tanja,
Its a very good response. You are very correct when you say our journey us from extremes to extremes and trying to reach a calculated middle values between these.. its a lovely thought,thank you..
Preetam
True :) So True!
Namaste,
I gave up normal for lent 30 years ago and now I don’t remember what it is I don’t try to do anymore. Sorry.
In all seriousness, I’ve never been normal and when I tried I failed. I couldn’t figure out what they wanted me to be. I married a musician, so I don’t even have a normal life. I have children who are autistic… not normal. I’ve thought about this question all week and the truth of the matter is that I don’t try to fit in. I just am as I am. If people like me, cool. If they don’t, I can’t do anything about it.
I read that list in Winner Stands Alone and couldn’t relate at all, but normal in Europe may be quite different from normal here… and the normal for those with money is quite different from normal among people who don’t have much. I’ve never thought of using botox, for example and I don’t know anyone who does. I don’t even wear makeup… although that’s something that I know is normal for women… and actually many men in rock music, come to think about it. :-)
Love to you
:)Ha Hee ! you rock Elaine
Namaste.
“normal” is what groups of individuals within society/cultures have dictated out of deeply rooted fears and insecurities about themselves/not fitting in the group or out of wanting to be in control/power (which is again a consequence of fear). Love & loving yourself is the opposite of following or dictating “norms” which means you don’t have to obey any artificial rules but you can just “BE”. This does often feel like swimming upstream because it is very rare in today’s society snd you get ridiculed, sometimes hurt and you even start doubting yourself at times. But then…somehow, somewhere…you end up meeting like minded people more and more as you draw them to yourself by a relentless belief in just being true to you.
Dear Paulo and Everyone,
First of all, thank you all so much for the abundance of positive thoughts I get everytime I come to this Paulo’s blog site.. It’s only been about 4 weeks that I have started reading here and I occasionally post what I think..I spend an hour first thing in the morning and an hour before i rest at night reading your entries..You all educate me…thank you all so much…
I wonder if anyone can give their opinion on chain letters..I receive many of these and most if not all, the messages really are positive..But the problem I have with these is that, I don’t follow what it tells me to…like send it to 5, 10 or more people including the one who sent it to you..They tell you not to break the chain or else….So what benifit does chain letters bring to people who receive them.?..
I feel threatened by some of them..therefore I don’t pass them on for the reason that I don’t want the same threatening feeling to come upon anyone….
Anyway, after reading most of the posts in this thread, i feel that i don’t belong to the “normal”..But somehow, i do feel very much a part of “the madness”….because while I try very hard to go against the tide, I am also learning to flow with it…it’s not easy…
sending love,
hazel v.
Hello Hazel and everyone here,
In my experience, messages incoropated in chain letter are usually positive. However, a vast majority of them seem to have been started as a form of spam, often attempting to play on people’s guilt using the tactics you’ve already described. I no longer pay any attention to these manipulations, as I see them. However, if it is something that you feel may be helpful or uplifting to those you choose to pass them on to (I remember one to do with “dance like no one is watching” was very popular maybe 10 years or so ago) then I think it would still be ok to send them.
“…because while I try very hard to go against the tide, I am also learning to flow with it…it’s not easy…”
This definitely struck a chord with me.
Best wishes.
Normal… seems like a very ordinary word at first sight but with 6 letters,from wh hic2 vowels and 4 consonantes, we can yet understand how difficult is the equation.
THE normal person, to my personal point of view, is the one who is able to stay in an unbalanced gAme. 2 VOWELS V/S 4 consonantes…
I remember when I WAS YOUNGER. i didnt have much experience of life, and i thought it to be all pink. I thought I would marry a prince. If not a king. I thought I will be the best in everythg. I was sure I would habe traveled the world before the age of 30. that was normali, by then. LIfe had to drive me from a success to another. and no time, had I anticipated the slightest windy day.
IN fact, that was normality by then.
It’s until U discover what bills mean, what pain is, what your fellow is, and more generally what life is that u can balance yrself in a more reasonable approach.
To me, it took me some years to balance myself in a new approach, and my feeling today, is that these 2 vowels 4 consonantes are met when u can accept what u are, and grow despite handicaps and obstacles u meet in yr way. I can now anticipate situattions, and their probable or possible consequences. THat helps me in choosing my paths, i am more away of the way I take and I can assume my own decisions. I dont feel anymore guilty, regretful, or more generally speaking negative in mmy own judgement. That’s being normal, it’s when u r ready for critique because u know that no one can be more severe in criticizing u than yrself, and u have enough arguments to tell yrself why u did this and not that, and so u can sleep easily, for long hours, and wake up tomorrow morning with a smile, and energy enough to keep yr life going the way u want it to go, though its not necessarily the way it should go.
My list of norms:
- Studying what parents want in school, so that you graduate from high school, to study what they want in university, and all the while complaining because it is too hard, or that you hate it.
- Girls getting married as soon as they graduate from university, if they weren’t lucky enough to catch an unlucky guy before graduating.
- Girls are expected – after they graduate and get married straight away – to forget about any dreams or career they had, and focus on the happiness of the husband, and making a happy home for the babies on the way.
- Any girl that is seen with a guy, or out late at night – don’t dare to be caught with a guy AND late at night – is a slut, and no question about it, she must be dating the guy, and he is taking advantage of her.
- In university, you must never sit alone. You must always hang out with shallow people, who share none of your interests, and only care about being seen in a nice car, or with a rich person. If you do sit alone, you are a weirdo, loner, and not capable of making friends.
- Volunteer work is a waste of time, and money that you could be earning. It is not useful, it only absorbs the time that should be spent studying.
- You must be the envy of all your parents friends. They should envy you for your beauty, for your school grades, for the catch you managed to marry, for your salary that you are earning, for the car that you are driving, and for everything else that does not make up your character.
—
Walaa, Your list of what people see as normal is very clear to see in country, culture, or family. I wonder though what direction does it flow and at what stage is it the most difficult to get rid of this way of thinking.
I am glad to hear that you are understanding that it is not normal. :)
Pra mim ser normal é ser diferente. Cada um é cada um.
Quando as pessoas fazem tudo igualzinho fica sem personalidade.
… mas o que é noramal????? ……
Beijos,
It’s a subjective reality….depends on who’s rules you want to follow. The only rule we should be following is the rule of nature, be kind and let it be. Its interesting though how history has progressed and how society has come into existance,,,,,,,all i can say is what a muddle it’s all become. Personally i do not want to be part of the muddle so i to follow my heart, hurt no one intentionally and keep peeling the layers away until it all becomes crystal clear!! One day maybe.
hi kirstie,
ya… wonderful thot be kind and let it be… but whenever u dont confirm there is a curse of lonliness and u stand on the fringe of it all…Yes its a muddle thru out history..every civilisation maybe because the best of us dont want to be a part of it… just a thot that if all the nonconfirmists we find in this blog were living next door to each other and not seperated by cities and continents ,what a life wud that be…I suspect it’d be just the same..
Do we have layers on us to hide us from others or its just that we dont know who we are ,what we want ,where we want to go,hence the muddle … maybe once we are cyrstal clear about ourselves… it will all sort out eventually…
Even I wait for that day..
I am 19 years old and have finally realised that…
True happiness comes from the inside- It can´t be bought ( by any means). I personally think that it is VERY important to be yourself- to do things that make YOU happy ( without harming anybody), that give YOU the sense of achievment. Be honest, be caring, spread love. I can´t believe that people who are “in”, are really happy. There´s a difference between a fake and a true smile. What´s the use of putting on a smile when there´s nothing inside but emptyness? ;) Sometimes people say I am different, wierd, crazy etc.. well …what´s wrong about being “INsane”;) ? People have the tendency to make fun of you but from the inside they wish they could be you…. Am blessed to be myself ;)
Yes Sim! And money and wealth are energy that can be used in a way that fulfills you, but not the only means to lead a fulfilling life, which is why I think it should never be an end in itself, same as fame and notoriety.
I wonder how many people set out on their path with fame or fortune on their mind and then find that the path itself is what sustains them? I get a little sense of this from the Zahir, but could be my own projection?
I sometimes put on a smile when I feel empty inside. Its a way of acting full and with honour rather than acting how I feel.
It’s impossible to be normal in a world that manipulates our behaviour with the all the many rules. There is no “normality” any more. Human beings have not choice but to grow older being part of the society where they live. We’ve forgotten the true essence of being normal human beings and got trapped by the many rules of how to behave, how to think, how to react, how to respond and even how to feel about the many events we face… it’s sad, but being normal now is live our lives in auto mode following the parameters and the patterns that society has established….
Dear Marcela,
Politeness does not prevent our feeling from existing. 2 being compatible. If there’s in you a feeling of sadness faced with all manipulations, be able to also you take a way which is called courage. You will find there a shelter which is called The Free – Referee.
Light and love,
Normal, in a society, means to follow the laws. Normal, compared with the rest, is something more complicated. We are “normal” if the rest think so. So, the others’ opinions about ourselves make us behave. The opposite, is to do what we feel inside, no matter if the people around do not consider it appropriate. When you behave “out of the normal” you can be isolated, but if it comes from inside, you feel released. We all try to belong to a place or a group, to avoid loneliness. But sometimes, loneliness is the path towards our own happiness.
Being normal? Why? Maybe it’s better just to be faithfull to yourself!!!
Blanca. I completely agree!!! And i think it´s important to be faithfull to yourself as long as you don´t harm somebody
Being normal is being invisible in the crowd. Mind your own business, do not challenge to rigid standards, be polite, even if it may be harmful and unpleasant to yourself. Normal is to admit the “superiority” of the “superior”. You see, normal is to a play part in a monotonous every day play. It is also similar to a life under dictatorship, where vivid, naive, bright thinking is either a subject to laughter, even (for some reason) despise. Today most of the societies are blinded with what they are told.
I apologise for sounding so negative…On the bright side, people who are the opposite to what I just listed are the happiest and that happiness is precious and outlouds anything else for such guys. Without thinking much they know what is normal. And the standardization of today is just a white canvas for them to paint their dreams on. I like the other side of this coin better myself. I know such guys, I adore them.
Être normal c’est être conforme aux normes sociales ou à celles d’un groupe auquel on appartient ou l’on souhaite appartenir. Être normal c’est être un masque réfléchissant ce qu’on attend de vous en tant qu’individu faisant parti d’une catégorie sociale déterminée. Pour y parvenir il faut se démunir de tout signe distinctif physique ou moral. Il faut s’effacer dans la foule, s’imprégner des tendances actuelles, être quelqu’un de branché!! Il faut s’habiller, se coiffer, se comporter suivant des modèles fixes afin d’affirmer son appartenance à un ensemble déterminé.
Être normal peut être considéré comme une notion géographique qui change de figure suivant le lieu. Ce qui est normal ici, ne l’est pas forcément là bas. Être normal c’est être le prophète des valeurs qui font la distinction d’une culture mais qui affirment surtout la conformité et l’homogénéité du groupe.
Ceci ne rime-t-il pas avec la richesse culturelle de ce monde?
Donc il n’y a pas un seul être normal mais il y en a plusieurs différents suivant leur origine (là c’est la théorie de relativité d’Einstein qui s’applique) et qui se discutent le pouvoir dans ce monde. On cherche à aller plus loin en harmonisant les critères de normalité par une arme fatale qui s’appelle la mondialisation. Une arme contre l’originalité, la tolérance,..contre l’humain…
Oui, la mondialisation: le soporifique de la planete.
I want to be my normal self but that does not appear to be normal to others.I am in school and totally hate exams but i’m expected to study and behave “normally” that is to cram a lot of irrelevant things into my head.I love math but not the way it’s done at school.I keep on studying advanced math books (not the school ones )people think i’m alien.I don’t watch movies or worry about the latest trends in fashion or about boys so I don’t have any friends at school.I’m sad because of this but i want to be my normal self.I don;t care if i don’t appear normal to others.
hello. apart from the maths bit… your story sounded familiar to my childhood at school…
and looking back what could i do at the time?
well… perhaps look for friends in a different social setting… those not connected to school.. perhaps through a club etc…
there will always be people on your level… but im not sure at school, there’s much option than other to just build your confidence with others and show them who your are…. sure you dont have shared interests with school mates… yet… so find out what you can share…
best of luck…
x
Wow, i find that really amazing. Has anybody ever told you that you´re a genius? Don´t let anybody put you down, I myself know how difficult it is to be different.. but hey, in the end you´re a rose amongst all the tulips ;)
You know, sometimes to be different is to be extra-ordinary amongst the ordinary.
I would like to start by saying that I wouldn’t wish NORMAL on any human being…I have not yet read all your books, but after “Manual del Guerrero de Luz” I look forward to reading each and every one of them. I thank God I found you now, (I am 39 but I feel like a child that is starting to discover the world). I thank you for this opportunity to share my thoughts. I feel honored.
1.- Siente que eres ignorante porque no has leido suficiente.
2.- No esperes a encontrar tu propia verdad para poder usarla como escudo.
3.- Busca la sabiduria en las verdades de personas famosas y de “exito” y deja que esta educacion vaya formando quien eres.
4.- Jamas hagas caso a tu intuicion, es solo tu cerebro desequilibrado que esta jugando trucos contigo.
5.-Manten el enfoque en acumular titulos universitarios para poder algun dia ser una de esas personas famosas y de “exito”.
5.- No celebres en silencio el enorme triunfo de haberte encontrado. Organizate una fiesta, invita a todos tus amigos y manda a hacer un trofeo para que cuando te lo entreguen frente a ellos, puedas darles un sabio discurso que los eduque y los guie en el camino a la fama.
6.- No pierdas el tiempo en cosas que son “normales” y rutinarias como lavar la ropa sucia, mantener limpia tu casa, dar de comer a tus hijos, hacer con ellos la tarea.
7.-Pagale a una persona que te cuide y eduque a tus hijos, pues eso solo te desvia de el verdadero objetivo: acumular conocimientos y verdades ajenas para que el mundo aplauda tu “sabiduria” y algun dia tu puedas educar al mundo.
8.- Trabaja siempre por dinero para que valga la pena tu esfuerzo.
9.- No tomes vacaciones, acumula todas tus semanas para que te las paguen cuando te retires, asi podras tener mas dinero en tu vejez.
And now I must end here, my free time is almost up. My kids are waking up. Thank you again.
That art is by definition difficult and impossible to understand
and if you don’t understand it, you’re stupid and a cultural nitwit.
Saying this being an artist myself
or rather a searcher… for gold… gold of the heart that is :-)
Lots of love,
Vicky
*Que el matrimonio dure para toda la vida.
*Que una madre tenga que ser considerada madre no mujer.
*Que sólo puedes amar a una persona.
*Pensar que todo el mundo es católico sin tener en cuenta que otros tienen otra cultura y otra religión.
*Considerar que tu religión es la mejor.
Last Monday a gypsy woman (about 38 years old) entered my office.
-“I want to tell you your fortune!” she said.
-“Thanks a lot. But I am too busy…” I answered politely.
-“No, listen to me, you have to know it! I WANT TO TELL YOU YOUR FORTUNE… you will be very happy,” she insisted.
-“Ok,” I said “BUT (!) before you tell me my fortune, I’ll tell you YOURS. If that is o.k. then let’s do it!”
She looked at me crazy then answered:
-“You are not normal.”
-“But YOU ARE. That’s why you are NOT able to tell me my fortune.”
I smiled. Poor woman… and lucky me! She went away.
Ha ha ha…funny scene.
I dont believe in such, I believe in signs, as dreams, or else, but that a woman can have that “job” as she claimed…No thank you.
Love
Alexandra
“In the past the grass was greener,
Today the grass is not so green,
And in the future grass will not be green at all”
If you are after 30 and you don’t think like that about all your lifetime, you are sociopath or useless dreamer.
my compiled list of normal things to guarantee madness…
* consider yourself here on earth to be merely a worker.. the younger the age you grasp/get this concept, the better. and exams are the end all to means to achieve this goal. nothing else matters!
* consider all thoughts you have as insignificant compared to those of your superiors. in fact, be seen and not heard!
* as a woman, stay respectful by being passive, quiet, meek and mild. agree with everything with a nod and smile. remember to act subserviant… ie: like a servant!
* never sing when you wish to say something. always choke on your own misery and allow your spirit to die.
* always dress exactly as the fashion shops dictate. don’t wear anything different to your friends unless you wish to be called a hussy or a witch.
* don’t think outside of the box too early on in life. you don’t want to upset your neighbours by presuming you are too big for your boots. you have to be stupid to be liked and to be accepted.
* always give priority in any situation to the male in the vicinity. he is, after all, the hunter..
* never follow your instinct whcih is your soul telling you your own truth and is as if wisdom is calling. dismiss your instinct and instead offer up a lie or diversion to trick your neighbour or friend.
* always allow the bully to have their own way.. don’t encourage their ways by objecting.. this only fuels their ego and wills them on. allow their authority and bad ways to win over the situation.
* always carry a gun with you, or own one at least. it is your basic human right. war is always better at resolving disputes than words can.
* marry for money. this way, you know you are getting something of value in a relationship. society will then accept you. lol.
* always look after number one. ie: yourself first. this can mean deceiving a best friend if it means you must survive.
* never sleep in after 11am. this shows you are lazy, that your body doesn’t like to work hard. your neighbours will ostrasize you if your curtains are not open by at least 7am! even at age 50, you’ve gotta be keeping your life according to the school timetable.
* know at all times what the football scores are.
* accept that when you are right, you are in fact wrong.
* always value gifts of sport, maths or science above those of music, art, creativity, good character. this way you are basing your reasoning and logic in concrete knowledge.
oh and “have a nice day… keep on smiling!”
;o))
Hi Catherine I loved reading your list of normal things.
Love
Sahana
Hahahaha…loved this list…it’s so so true……………
Your list just made me happy…
Why? Well because NONE of them apply to me! :)
Not that they aren’t the norms here, actually they fit right in, but it makes me happy that I am not considered normal!
The parts about expected to be submissive and weak just because I’m a woman, or the one about not sleeping late because I don’t want to seem lazy…I am breaking all the rules, and happy about it :)
Thank you <3
When I was a child I wanted to fit in, so I learnt lots of beliefs and patterns of behaviour in order to do that. But they weren’t me. They were not a true expression of who I came here to be and gradually I became ill, so I have spent the last ten years letting them all go and discovering who I really am.
Normality is an illusion. There is no such thing. What we call normality are simply ways to prevent us rocking the boat so that everyone else feels safe. One of my teachers tells me that the only way to be safe in this world is to become a safe person, but we don’t do that by being something we are not. In fact being something we are not makes us very unsafe because the foundations on which we are building our lives are unstable and ungrounded.
But to let go of ‘normality’ is not to become mad or irresponsible or anarchic – that’s just a form of rebellion which is also an illusion. To let go of normality is to wake up to the truth of yourself and the deep inner wisdom that allows us to be both spontaneously creative and ethically responsible. We become responsive to life rather than reactive.
Rebecca
Dear Rebecca
i totally agree with you ;o)
i also became ill, and a great part was due to what you described… and yes, so much time to unravel and change ones life… but it is worth it.. ;o)
best wishes
Really well said. I especially liked your last paragraph.
hi reb,
that is well said. i am sharing the same experiences and am glad that you found a way to express this so precisely.
i also got ill because of playing the rules of “the system” – be it parents, society,… and i am still working on my way to find my place in life where i can be what is the real me, what brings enthusiasm to my soul.
and it is about being responsible.
love & peace
alex.
hola querido paulo,la normalidad para mi es una de las mas pesadas d las esclavitudes, ser normal es darle gusto a todo el mundo escepto a uno mismo, y quien decide que es normal? en el momento en que decidimos dejar de ser “normales” en ese momento es q empezamos a disfrutar mas de la vida.
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