Today we ask you to look at that part of you that wishes things were more “normal.”

Normalcy is highly prized in your society.  As children, you are expected to develop in a “normal” way, hitting the normal markers at the normal times.  In school, “normal” children tend to receive validation and encouragement, whereas a child who is strange or odd is a cause for concern.

Really, is there a worse word than “abnormal”?  To be abnormal is to be defective, a freak.  Abnormal things are discarded and thrown away.  Abnormal things must be normalized.

While there has been some progress in your world in terms of accepting and tolerating that which appears to be strange, or abnormal, the forces of normalization remain potent, and constantly struggle to seize control.

Depending on how much you were exposed to the normalizing conditioning of parents and teachers when you were a child, you may have an inner compulsion towards normalcy.

This may be true even if you consider yourself an exceptionally progressive and tolerant individual.

While you may champion the rights of the marginalized and oppressed, you may still have a very strong internal craving for “a normal life.”

If you investigate this within your consciousness, you might be quite surprised.

The normalizing force often intensifies as people age.  When young, people might be comfortable rebelling against social norms, but as they get older — particularly when they have children — the internal pressure to fit in and just be normal can intensify.

This explains the common phenomenon of “people turning into their parents” as they age.  As children, they may have found their parents repressive and stifling.  But as adults with children of their own, they begin to identify with the repressive, normalizing forces that so chafed at them when they were young.

This is something that happens when people are very unconscious and asleep in life, playing out conditioned, programmed patterns.  Usually, a sign that this is the case is that such people are very miserable, without fully grasping why.

Sometimes people will engage in self-destructive behavior in order to regain some sense of autonomy and self despite all their efforts to be “normal.”  So they will cheat on their spouses, or become drug addicts or gambling addicts.  Sadly, such behavior is very predictable.

The way to avoid that sad outcome is to resist the urge to normalize.

Value your individuality, your weirdness, your abnormality.  Never try to be “normal” and fit into some kind of societally-approved role.

That is truly the best way to be a partner to your spouse and a parent to your child.

You must remain within your own integrity, even if that means going against the normalizing force.

This never stops being true.  It is not just true for children and young people.  It is true for everyone, at every age.

Never do something just because it is the “normal” thing to do.  That is a terrible motivation for action, and will only lead to misery.  Then you will become the unhappy spouse or parent, and no one will enjoy living with you.

Even if you think of yourself as a free spirit, stay conscious of this.  The normalizing force is a potent thought form in your society, and has ways of creeping in when you are unaware.

If you are “abnormal” — good for you.  That is a sign that you are awake, and alive.  The most vibrant and creative people in your world are always thoroughly “abnormal.”