Big Picture

Why Normal Looks Abnormal to Me

The further I moved away from my comfort zone and challenged the status quo, the healthier and happier I became

There is nothing normal in our normalcy, paradoxically.

There is nothing normal about life and the universe. Setting norms with our tiny knowledge does not seem normal to me. What we know so far is only a drop in the ocean. Who can dare to say eternity is normal?

There appears to be nothing normal in nature from my perspective. It constantly throws unusual events and creates paradoxes, to our surprise.

To normal human perception, earthquakes, tsunamis, and fires are abnormal. Animals eating animals and even plants eating animals could be seen as abnormal. But nature does not care what we think about it. It continues acting abnormally.

There is nothing normal in quantum physics or quantum computing. Neither cosmology nor nanoparticles depict any normalcy.

There is nothing normal in the human body and brain. We make norms with our neocortex (thinking brain), but the old brain, archaic genes, and tiny organelles (mitochondria) run the bodily and mental shows.

We think we act normal in the 21st century, yet we pollute the planet with our normalcy intoxicating ourselves and other living beings. Our normalcy is even changing the climate.

Justifying our rights normal, we declared wars and killed billions of people throughout history. We still do it in the 21 century.

For example, Mr. Putin might think he is normal, but there appears to be nothing normal in his abnormal thinking and actions, causing grief to innocent people.

Normalcy (aka normality) refers to being typical, usual, common, or expected. There seems to be nothing normal in “normalcy/normality,” in my experience.

As untested norms put us in boxes preventing our natural freedom, I don’t want to live as a slave to normalcy. I choose unusual paths to keep my sanity.

When I lived my life based on perceived and advocated normalcy, I struggled and even suffered from physical and mental issues. Normalcy made my life miserable when unchecked.

I don’t take offense when people characterize my lifestyle as abnormal anymore. On the contrary, I see it as a compliment.

The more I challenged normalcy and the further I moved away from my comfort zone, the healthier and happier I became.

While my unusual lifestyle concerned normal people, it enriched my life satisfaction.

To elaborate on my so-called abnormal ideas, I give a glimpse of my approach with a few examples from my life to show how advised normalcy ruined my life and perceived abnormal strategies made me healthier and happier

1 — Unusual Thinking

I choose to think outside the box and even prefer beyond-the-box thinking to see the hidden meaning in the cosmos.

We make sense of the world with our thinking. However, our thoughts are limited and cannot explain reality. They only create perceptions.

When I go out of normal thinking and try unusual mental paths, the possibilities look endless. Only after going beyond normalcy could I produce novel ideas that made me an inventor.

Only unusual thoughts brought me valuable ideas manifested as inventions. My novel ideas looked abnormal to 99.9% of people. Yet, they resonated with 0.1% of the stakeholders contributing to society.

Stretching my mind to see the truth beyond norms broadens my horizon. In the big schema things, our normalcy means nothing to me.

You might check how I perceive the future of humanity if you are curious.

A Glimpse of the 33rd Century Altered My Perspective on Life

How I Perceive the 50th Century

2 — Unusual Encounters and Social Connections

We fear the unknown. People we don’t know are characterized as strangers; hence we take utmost caution. My parents used to advise me not to talk to strangers.

But when I did, my life satisfaction increased. I even learned about the important role of karma in our lives.

In my perspective, people remain strangers until we make the first contact. Thus I don’t see strangers who look strange to normal people.

The term consequential strangers, coined by Melinda Blau is appealing to me as her approach can smoothly convert so-called strangers into friends if we approach them with an open mind.

Inspired by Rumi, I open my proverbial door to anyone knocking on it as they might be sent by beyond carrying an important message for us, as reflected in one of the poems I translated from the original version of Masnavi.

Here are two examples of how I deal with so-called strangers.

An Overweight Man Called Me “Crazy & Freak” in the Butcher Shop Today

A Man Holding a 7 kg Watermelon Caught My Attention and Prompted My Action Today.

In each story, the characters see themselves as normal. Yet my life looks strange to them. However, their life looks abnormal to my perceptions with no judgment.

3 — Usual Eating Regimens

There is nothing usual about diet. Even diets endorsed by governments give grief to many citizens.

Eating carbs looked normal in my younger years as advised for being essential, which was not. Eating fats looked abnormal, as advised, harmful, which was not.

Only after replacing carbs with fats did my health and well-being improve.

Normal people advise sugar as the best source of energy. Thus, they recommend consuming lots of carbs.

However, when I cut sugar, fasted, and used ketogenic diets, I entered ketosis, which gave a cleaner alternative energy source to my body and brain, rewarding me with BDNF for better performance and more happiness.

Normal people told me eating three meals was necessary, which was not. They even recommended eating snacks to improve health. But frequent snacking made me miserable.

I gained better health and life satisfaction after skipping breakfast, cutting snacks, and choosing a one-meal-a-day approach.

Normal people advised me to consume lots of vegetables, fruits, and fiber to get healthy. Even though these things are suitable for many people, they are not for everyone.

They also said the meat was unhealthy. It might not be fitting for some people but suitable for others. When I adopted the keto diet, I thrived.

So, only after reducing plants and increasing animal products did I gain better health and life satisfaction. However, some people thrive on plant-based diets, such as keto-vegan.

Neither carnivore nor vegan is normal to an omnivore. Likewise, I don’t think a distinctive vegan would see a carnivore as normal or vice versa.

4 — Usual Workouts

In my younger years, I was told that running would significantly increase my stamina and melt my belly fat. As a result, I naively believed and ran excessively to reduce my visceral fat.

Rather than losing visceral fat, I lost my precious muscles and inflamed my joints. Unfortunately, normalcy couldn’t see the effects of the cortisol monster, insulin resistance, and leptin resistance.

I was advised to do lots of cardio to burn calories. So they thought that investing in a thread mill to keep my form was necessary. Unfortunately, the more cardio I did, the bigger my belly got due to the effects of elevated cortisol.

Instead of a treadmill, I purchased dumbells, a pull-up machine, a vibration machine, and a trampoline which improved my fitness, kept lean muscles, and reduced visceral fat.

I learned that fat loss had nothing to do with calories, so I focussed on hormonal balance by adjusting my workouts and diet.

5 — Unusual Recreation and Hobbies

Normal people thought that intense heat and freezing cold would be dangerous for the body and might even cause heart attacks and strokes.

Abnormally, I wanted to try heat and cold.

Thus, when I used dry saunas at 70 C, my heart health got even better. Saunas cleared the toxins and even gave me smoother skin. Exposing my body to heat contributed to initiating autophagy for cellular cleansing.

Normal people advised me to take warm showers to relax and refrain from cold showers stressing the body.

Even though it was partially true when I started cold showers and ice baths, my acute stress increased, but chronic stress decreased, removing my anxiety.

Focusing on my unusual recreational activities, I reaped many health and well-being benefits.

6 — Unusual Work

Normal people advised me to work hard. Abnormal ones encouraged me to work smarter.

Normal folks suggested active income. Abnormal ones taught me the importance of passive income for financial freedom.

My normal parents, relatives, and friends thought that I needed to work in government or private organizations to earn good money and taste financial freedom.

Trusting these normal people, I followed the advice for 40 years and got only 10% value of my time and effort.

When I moved away from normalcy, I gained 100% value.

Normal people advised me to publish my books in traditional publishing companies to get the best value. I followed the advice and earned negligible income.

When I moved away from normalcy and tried self-publishing and owning the copyright of my content, the value substantially increased, giving me more freedom and additional benefits.

Final Words and Takeaways

Norms naturally do not fit everyone. In addition, norms are context-sensitive and relative.

I don’t think anyone can define normalcy for seven billion souls on this planet. So, for example, something legal in one country is illegal in another. Likewise, what we see as ethical somewhere is unethical elsewhere.

Who could have thought that innocent chewing gum was legal in Australia, where I live but illegal in Singapore, giving my son and wife massive grief?

Something normal that makes one happy can make another unhappy. Some people prefer precarious positions with excitement and enjoy living on the edge.

The viable option is to define our own normalcy and have no fear of abnormal paths suiting our needs and goals with passion, an open mind, and optimism.

However, we shouldn’t mix up unusual paths and lifestyles with illegal activities. To enjoy our lives, we need to obey the laws of our locations designed to keep us safe.

Nevertheless, we can still challenge the law legally in democratic countries. Thus, the law improves with the contribution of abnormal people and serves the citizens better.

I don’t worry if some “normal people” label me abnormal, unusual, unorthodox, maverick, eccentric, crazy, freak, unconventional, odd, strange, or bizarre. Those judgemental words are music to my ear.

Enjoying my uniqueness gives me more pleasure than fitting into contrived boxes created by a limited cognitive system.

Every soul is unique on this planet. Thus, there is no definable normal in life.

Let’s celebrate our uniqueness and enjoy life.

I wrote many stories reflecting uniqueness in life.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

Here’s How a Mature-Age Couple Reversed Diabetes and Trimmed Their Bodies with Lifestyle Habits that might look abnormal to some.

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