Normal? Humph!

The SHORT

One of my great loves is reading. I never totally enjoyed reading in elementary or middle school but when I got into high school, I saw the how my world could be transformed by words- the world is shaped on thoughts. Everyone's mind is molded by what they've been told and, most importantly, the stories or ideas that they read. 

Reading is one of the most beautiful escapes.

How often do you get to live someone else's life? When can you actually hear their innermost thoughts and feelings? Do you ever wish you knew how something made someone feel... really? Dear friends, if you don't like reading, start. It truly is worth the time.

The above ramble was brought up because of the current book that I'm reading. While it's not the most refined book, the characters are quite interesting and the story-line is great, thus far. I haven't finished the book, yet... So there is still a possibility that it turns out terrible but last night as I was reading, I found an awesome point. 

Jonathan Mooney is a man who struggled with learning disabilities as a child. During his childhood, not much was known on how to handle these disabilities and as a result the teachers would end up viewing the child as lesser of a human being. Quite terrible, huh? Well, anyways, Mooney decides, as a man, that he should make a point and reach out to all those that are viewed the same as he. He buys a short bus and travels around the U.S. writing down people's stories and in the process (no, duh.) he figures out more about himself than he ever knew.

So this is the quote that I was touched by...

"As I drove, I thought about that word normal.Before leaving on this trip, I had come across a great book called Enforcing Normalcy by Lennard Davis, who makes a strong argument that the word normalcy did not enter the English language until around 1860. Before then, we had only the concept of the ideal, which no one could ever hope to obtain. In the United States, normal arose within a cultural context as the nation sough to control a growing urban population and Americanize immigrants from around the world. Normalcy, though, is first and foremost and idea that arises from statistics. The normal, norm, or normalcy do not exist in the real world of people, despite the fact that we are told that we can modify our behavior and train our bodies and minds to reach it. We are told to chase it- in our culture, in our families, in our lives. But when we chase it- as I did- it disappears. Normalcy is like a horizon that keeps receding as you approach it."

I though this was not only a cool quote, but a great idea. Why don't we let go of this "thought" of normalcy? Anyways, if you're aiming for what I'm aiming for you know that you weren't called to be normal? NO. Normal simply isn't good enough any more. It doesn't cut it. Our plea shouldn't be to 'fit in'... it should be to 'stick out'! To be different.

So, yeah. This isn't a Christian book, but it's driving force is quite beautiful and very counter cultural. The book is mostly talking about disabilities, and usually we think of extremes when the word disabled is brought up but this quote of normalcy should most definitely be incorporated into your life. and MY life. 

It's this simple: normal is over-rated and boring.

 The people who make a difference are willing to be different.