What is "Normal"

[scooterman (deleted)]

what is normal? all things are normal
this is a great truth but hard to embrace
i act like i don’t know what normal is
i know what normal is all things are normal

my definition limits my ability to see clearly
normal does not mean right or good or the way it ~ should be ~
normal means ~ the way it is ~
normal does not mean healthy for me or spiritually balanced or done
according to a specific set of rules
it simply means normal
normal is what happens most often
normal is the usual
normal is the majority

all the rest are judgments and desires
when i ask ~ what is normal? what i mean is ~ what is universal?
what should everyone be doing?
what should everyone believe?
how should everyone act? there is no universal all things are normal dull is normal
exciting is normal
extremes are normal balance is normal
droughts and floods happen at the same time

in different places on the planet
a drought is not worse than a flood a flood is not better than a drought
they are both a normal part of life on the planet
both destroy and both replenish the earth
it is only how they impact my life and the things i value that cause me problems
the earth has no conscience it does not see the value i project onto objects
all things are normal
there is no ~ way ~ to live my life

theories about ~ ways ~ to live my life are attempts to control behavior
it’s not as though we are all supposed to try to live without stress without fear without worry
there is no way i am ~ supposed ~ to live
stress is normal fear is normal
worry is normal
those of us with nurturing instinct talk about reducing the level of stress in our lives
but our nurturing instinct is the source of our stress

my nurturing instinct makes me worry about the health and safety of my children
i cannot reduce the level of nurturing instinct inside myself
it is normal
our nurturing instinct motivates us to bear children and do whatever we can to keep them alive for as long as possible
disappointed frustrated nurturers who will continually try to make dysfunctional marriages work are vital to the continuation of my species

happy workers and gatherers are vital
to the continuation of my species
angry warriors are vital to the continuation of my species
frustrated inventors who see short sightedness and stunted thinking everywhere they look are vital to the continuation of my species

frustrated hunters who see inefficiency and ineffectiveness everywhere they look are vital
to the continuation of my species

all are needed apparently
we work well as a team

even though we never realize that we are working together
even when we believe wholeheartedly that we are working against each other
a whole and complete society is one that makes brilliant advances
and the simplest of ignorant mistakes
a whole and complete society is one in which all of our instincts
are working that is normal
we gatherers live with the stress

of believing that there will never be enough
and there never will be enough
we cannot possibly gather enough food to last us the rest of our lives
we warriors live with the stress of always having an enemy and needing to be constantly vigilant
since all warriors do this there is always an enemy
and always will be
these are all normal behaviors motivated out of normal instincts
stress is normal

it may not be healthy for us but it is normal
childbirth is normal murder is normal rage is normal passion is normal
hatred love desire rejection abuse neglect regret success failure disdain fear
joy stupidity intelligence judgment and serenity are all normal
we feel and do many things at the same time

and they all serve us in our day to day lives
normal people are whole people
feeling all kinds of feelings doing all kinds of behaviors normal is just normal
it is neither good nor bad
it is neither right nor wrong it is just normal
it exists without judgment

scooterman

[darrelkun (deleted)]

Normal is a subjective word.