Its OK to be different.

You have all heard it. "Normal is a setting on a dryer." The expression that asserts the concept that there is no such thing as normal. Another way of looking at "normal" would be to use the word "typical," a term which will likely put you in hot water when applied to individuals of the female persuasion. The antithesis implies abnormal or atypical, both monikers we would all like to avoid. However, the fact is that normalcy is a fallacy.

Without becoming boring, I ask you to indulge me in a brief discourse on statistics. Most behaviours and attributes can be graded with a number and ranked. Some, like height, adopt numerical markers well while others, self-worth, for example, are difficult to attach numerical values to. Tests, opinions, biases, immediate condition of the subject, and time in history all affect the outcome. Then there are the results that are geared to compare an individual to a population. The question becomes, "What population?" Any results you get would be vastly different depending on whether the population was composed mostly of people of one ethnicity, seniors, ruralites, people of religion, educators, and so on. Demographers would tell you that a large random sample across a population is required before any reliable values were to be obtained. Then, once a number is given, it is placed on a curve with all other related data and assigned a standard deviation to tell you how far from the centerline that person with that particular trait is. How far from "normal" someone is.

At the end of the day we all want to be normal but the truth is none of us are. We represent a melody of characteristics that make up a person, a population, a country, and a planet. Bullying comes from a group of individuals who are not normal but, rather, have enough in common to find comfort in the group. Collectively they look for others who are enough outside their parameters to pick on to gain feelings of superiority and belonging. Instead of seeing others as being "the same but different," they only see differences. Imagine, in the above photo, how the other blooms may feel towards the one that is "different." They could collectively see it as an aberration and shun its very existence. Then look at it from an outsiders' point of view. Where do your eyes first go? Which part of the plant would you call the most attractive? Which component takes a mundane photo and turns it into more than that? The truth is there is more in common than there are differences, and we should all see others in the same light.

The other thought that comes to mind is the value of being different. Leaders are such because they are different. Inventions, breakthroughs, and epifanies come from those not caught in the crusade for normalcy and acceptance. There is great worth in being outside normal. Embrace who you are and love those around you. It's OK to be different. In fact, its hard to be anything but.

Thanks for reading.     Ericspix     Eric Svendsen

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