Without putting much thought into it, the word “normal” is a word that is easily thrown around especially about views of the world and life. It’s “normal” to have this or that, its normal to look a certain way, it’s even comforting, don’t worry that’s “normal”.
But who decides what’s normal and whats not? Is “normal” not the impossible or unthinkable of the previous century? Maybe even the abnormal?
Here’s Why I hate Normal taught to me by a 13-year old boy with autism and why you should think twice to express an opinion of what’s normal and what not.
The Reason I Jump: The inner voice of a thirteen year old boy with autism by Naoki Higashida, is an autobiography written by a 13-year-old boy from Japan about what it is like to live with autism. The way autistic people view the world is very different than the way we may perceive them to view the world.
It was one of the first sentences that struck a nerve and made me feel troubled inside. Here is an excerpt out of the book.
When I was small, I did not even know that I was a kid with special needs.
How did I find out?
By other people telling me that I was different from everyone else, and this was a problem.
Naoki was told he is not normal, how cruel is that from the world and to put a label on a kid so young and change the rest of his life. My immediate thoughts were, how would his life be different if he was not told that he is different and that it was a problem? Would it have made a difference at all?
I guess we will never know.
But from reading further, it was evident that it had a huge impact on his life. Knowing that there is something wrong with him impacted him with everything he did. It’s an insightful read and discovery of the world through the eyes of someone with autism.
Coming back to my concern, I’d like to think that the world is a better place than that. We tend at first laugh at the absurd, and scuff it off as ridiculous or crazy. Yet later on when success shows up, we forget and we make heroes of the once “not normal” people.
What would the world be without a Richard Branson who did not let “not normal”(dyslexia) stop him? What if Stevie Wonder was told he is not normal and cannot sing? Or to Stephen Hawking, you can’t do physics?
The list goes on, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Michael J. Fox, Ludwig van Beethoven, Nick Vujicic, Andrea Bocelli, Ralph Braun.
There are so many examples, and yet we still underestimate the human potential by boxing it up with one word, “normal”
Maybe its time to celebrate the abnormal, to be crazy and ridiculous to enjoy life and just break free from”the normal of life”. Normal was once the dreams and impossibles {abnormal} of the past.
Why not use your influence to build potential? Today rather than judgement and restriction use your words for powerful encouragement.
Go out today and #berediculous .
