What is Normalcy?
Okay, you made it here despite my use of a non-word like “normalcy” in the name. Now what in the world does “navigating normalcy” even mean? “Is he a big fan of nautical tales? Is this a fan site for the critically acclaimed but little-known 2003 HBO film Normal?”
Our world is flooded with celebrities. Movie stars, influencers, Kardashians… fame is all around us. Culture celebrates, obsesses over people constantly followed by paparazzi and plastered on billboards all over the globe.
The rest of us live in relative obscurity. We set our alarms, head to a job that, on a good day, we may enjoy about half the time, and then spend our evenings adulting. We pay our bills, we care for our families, and, if we’re lucky, we adjust our budgets to save up for a vacation every now and again.
Sounds boring, right? But billions of us live this every day, toiling the days away trying to leave the people around us a bit happier and the world a bit better than it was when we arrived.
Here’s the thing - It’s not.
That’s normalcy (or, if you prefer real words, "normality”).
In the midst of normalcy we find joy; we find laughter; we create small ripples in the pool of existence that make an impact decades into the future. Celebrities and Elon Musk don’t have a corner on the market of meaning. Kanye doesn’t own creativity. The Rock hasn’t copy written joy (though he was the host of Shark Week, so he’s getting pretty close).
Yet incredible things are happening all around us. Seemingly “normal” people are doing amazing things! Normalcy, then is anything but normal. “Normal” life includes spectacular adventures, deep meaning, and heroic stories of people rising from the darkness of tragedy to accomplish great things that. They may not make headlines, and we likely won’t see a viral TikTok circling the planet, but these things are happening all around us.
The whole point of this project is to notice the incredibly “normal” things going on every day. My goal is for us to begin believing we can do incredible things. We can change the lives of those around us. We can make Earth a better place, simply by living a normal life.
Challenge
So, here’s the challenge for the week - Look around you. Notice the little things people are doing every day that add a little meaning to life. See the mom sitting next to her toddler explaining how their choices impact their friends. Glance up at the clerk’s face when she smiles at you and begins scanning your groceries. Listen to the joyful giggles of the girl eating an ice cream cone with her grandpa on a hot afternoon. These are normal things we encounter every day, and yet they truly are changing the world. And finally, share what you’ve observed. These comments sections are a great place to share and notice even more!
