Normal ?

Simple question I was asked the other day, and one that has always sat well with me. Not normal, a phrase I often use to describe myself, and one which usually goes unchallenged. Except for yesterday of course. So I was told to put some thought to my statement, and here it is.

Normality to most is in fact routine. Not a set of values we use to assess others, but a set of rules which we follow in our day to day life. Habits, behaviours, and moral beliefs. For example, if you see two people kissing, do you look away a little embarrassed by being a witness to their actions, or do you look on and think 'how sweet'? Already we have a baseline for what I mean. A simple act of care and affection like a kiss can divide the masses, and provoke us to determine if its right or wrong, normal or not normal.

Others have a slightly more open minded to what normal is, and while accepting the everyday decisions and actions of individuals around them, tolerating difference in opinions of what is OK to do on a day to day basis. Choosing only to judge normal and not normal on much more powerful and thought provoking matters. Violence, sex offences, and 'extreme' views on religion and power.

So why do I use the phrase 'not normal' so freely? Well, over the years, as the blog no doubt shows, I have slowly but surely got to know myself, and my mind quite well. Seeming to be a little different to most people I know, in my opinion at least. Yes we are all pieces in the giant game of chess that life is. But what piece we believe ourselves to be determines who we are. For me, a mere pawn is where I see myself. The first to feel the force of the opposition, tiny in comparison to other pieces, and sometimes a little powerless. But when it comes to the crunch, this little pawn can be mighty and topple even the greatest.

OK, quite a strange analogy I know, and maybe not my best to date, but its a start.

The big thing for me is my interest in others. Constantly seeking to help somehow, involved on a much deeper level than most care to be in other peoples lives. An over-thinker, taking far too much time to try and understand something or someone, while sometimes missing the entire point. A knowledge sponge, constantly on the search for something new, something different, a new experience.

So back to the question, what is normal? Well in short, every person around you while sharing certain moral values, will have a different of what normal is. Tattoos, another amazing example of how easily we judge and decide if someone is normal or not. Colouring your skin in, with needles and inks, well its not natural, no of course its not. But by today's standards, given its popularity, its pretty normal now.

Ultimately it is all about opinions, beliefs, and values. Once you have your own baselines for those three categories, you are a little closer to being able to give your definition of YOUR normality.

As for if I am really normal or not, well that's for you and you only to decide if I conform. If a complex minded, considerate, over baring, sharp tongued, tattooed man who bares open his soul to the internet is 'normal' to you... Then I take it all back, I am 100% boring and normal.

If my blogs confuse you, tattoos disgust you, or personality irritates you, then I am in a sense happy, to be individual and different in your eyes.  Either way, I don't mind how people see me, judge me, or what they say about me. I am happy with who I am. It took years to perfect this careful balance of considerate arsehole, so I'm not changing, not for anyone.