Your new normal

“Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.”
~ Albert Camus

You expend tremendous energy trying to survive this demanding, unforgiving, unbalanced world; hoping to find just a bit of happiness before the game is over.

The traditional, normal approach, is to make whatever efforts are deemed necessary to survive and possibly thrive in this world, usually following some previously prescribed set of rules for success, and this takes up the bulk of time during your early and middle years. “Keep up the effort, stay positive, and live to fight another day,” they say, “and your cherished dreams will come true!” This is the Traditional Normal.

The abnormal, as it is commonly referred to, is when you’ve finally given up or reached your symbolic dead end, but feel too overwhelmed with despondency to even realize this, thinking you are just too exhausted, getting old, or suffering a mental health issue. This becomes the New Normal for you and the burgeoning, disillusioned older generation; the prime fodder for today’s psychiatric and pharmaceutical industries.

Sensual woman

A man feels both excitement and fear over a woman’s sexuality, a conundrum that seems to defy resolution. He takes delight in being the focus of her desire, yet fears the rabid lusts of other men, who lurk in the shadows, awaiting their turn.

And so he either succumbs to his fear, judging her desire as bad, accusing her of indiscretions or fantasies of the worst kind; or he resolves to appreciate the blessing of her sensuality, rejoicing in God’s masterpiece, a gift to all who experience her, both near and far; now, then, and tomorrow.

Special moments

“As you get older, you want less from the world; you just want to experience it. Any barriers to feeling emotions get dismantled. And ordinary things become beautifully poetic.”
~ Richard Linklater

Following many years of traumas, disappointments, broken promises, and unrealized dreams, you settle for special moments. Those unexpected, one-shot deals that seem to come out of nowhere, without your intervention; possibly the result of random circumstance, good luck, fate, or God’s hand. Regardless of origin, you consume each special moment with a lust driven fervor and insatiable hunger, until every last drop is consumed, as if it were your final crumb of fleeting happiness.

Filling the gaps

Filling the gaps is what imagination is for. My stories, poems, and musings are equal parts experience, second hand information, and imagination. Imagining what we don’t know or never experienced is half the fun, according to me. 🙂

Imagination is especially important for writers with limited experience in various domains. It could be argued that many of the most creative works were inspired by pure imagination, rather than experience or secondhand knowledge. Although, in most cases, it is difficult to differentiate between the three modes of creative input, as they overlap and inform one another. In fact, our actual memories are usually an amalgam of the three sources.

Magicians of deception

When asked for the truth, many of us take the middle road, selectively revealing some facts and leaving out others; creating the impression or illusion of a bigger picture that isn’t quite accurate.

Technically, it is possible to be forthcoming about the facts, but only in precisely measured quantities and careful arrangements with other facts, so that the reader or listener is left imagining a story that is more fiction than reality. This type of creative storytelling is at the center of today’s social discourse, to be found in politics, legal proceedings, news media, social media, and within our personal relationships.

Have we become like magicians to one another, hiding important truths through the use of misdirection? Has the “white” or “gray” lie become the status quo of human interaction, priming us for even darker lies?