Michael Robert Dyet's Blog, page 69

Random Act of Metaphor: Fireflies of Reminiscence

Hmmm, how can it be that certain precocious memories endure through the years even while my memory becomes quite hit and miss?

I must confess that my memory has become rather fickle now that I’m 50+. There are times, particularly on stressful days, when I think: Oh yeah, I have to remember to do that just as soon as I finish this e-mail. Four hours later I’ll remember that I forgot to do that very important thing.

And yet, a random happening can trigger memories that are decades old.

Elton John`s Tiny Dancer plays on the radio… and instantly I`m taken all the way back to my carefree college days when my life was a mystery just beginning to unfold.

The mingled fragrances of a woodlot rise in the wake of a thunderstorm … and I`m transported back to a 1977 summer day when a sudden effusion of mint scented the air after a passing rain shower.

An eager young boy with his fishing pole balanced on his shoulder passes by… and I`m whisked back 37 years to spring days spent fishing for perch at the mouth of creek at Selkirk.

Fireflies of reminiscence which keep rekindling themselves – random acts of metaphor to remind me that the most exquisite pleasures of life are very often the simplest and most unaffected ones.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog . Visit www.smashwords.com to download a free preview of the e-book version.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To”

instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Technology: Are We Empowered or Enslaved?

Hmmm, when does the march of technology stop being about making our lives better and start being a self-perpetuating organism to which we are hopelessly addicted?

We live in a technology driven world in which the rhythm of our life is dictated by the machines and gadgets in which we have come to depend. In theory, technology is supposed to serve us. But I’m beginning to wonder if the pendulum hasn’t swung to the other side.

So let’s examine some of the technology assumptions.

Assumption: Computers enable us to do things much more efficiently – thus freeing up our time for other things and making our lives easier.

Reality: Computers enable a single person to do much more work. This means we handle three or four times the amount of work than we did in the pre-computer era. Our lives aren’t easier. They are more hectic and more stressful. It’s a treadmill that forces us to run ever faster to avoid being thrown off.

Assumption: The internet has made the world smaller and more intimate. It empowers us to communicate with people we would otherwise never have known existed.

Reality: The internet has made it possible for us to hole up in our houses or apartments and channel our communications through

the box on our desks. We connect with people in other parts of the world but spend less time face-to-face with our next door neighbours.

Assumption: Hand-held devices (cell phones, blackberries, tablets) harness technology and empower us to make day-to-day, minute-to-minute use of this technology.

Reality: Hand-held devices harness us to technology. The harness is increasingly addictive and, among other disadvantages, obliterates the dividing line between work life and home life

Assumption: Increasing complexity and sophistication in technology is by definition good. Each new generation improves our lives exponentially.

Reality: Increasing complexity and sophistication in technology is good – and increasingly critical – for the bottom line of the companies who manufacture it. Each new generation pulls us exponentially deeper into the technology web with implications we won’t understand until many years down the line.

Assumption: We’ve only scratched the surface of how technology can make our lives better.

Reality: The law of diminishing returns applies to technology when we consider all its implications. We may already have crossed that line without realizing it.

The word “technology” has, I would argue, crossed into the realm of metaphor. We conceive of it as a metaphor for a more fulfilled existence in which we have more control over our lives. I fear that we may have blinked at the moment it crossed over and become a

metaphor for an enslaved existence in which we answer to its whims.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog . Visit www.smashwords.com to download a free preview of the e-book version.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Confessions of An Unabashed Soul-Searcher

“Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man’s life is independent. He is not born for the development of society alone, but for the development of his self.” ~ B. R. Ambedkar, Indian Political Leader and Philosopher

Hmmm, is the journey inward the most important journey of our lives?

One of the first posts I wrote for this blog several years ago was titled “46 Chromosomes”. I had learned that each human being has 46 chromosomes. Chromosomes, which are coiled pieces of DNA, each have up to 1,000,000 nucleotides in a long chain.

The point is that each of us, from a genetic perspective, is unique and one-of-a-kind. Genetics is not just about how tall we are, the colour of our hair or eyes or how fast we can run. It is about who we are from a self-identity perspective. The perplexing thing is how long it can take us to find and claim our identity.

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” ~ Oscar Wilde, Irish Writer and Poet

It is very easy to fall into the trap that Oscar Wilde is describing. There is certainly less resistance if we choose this path in life. There are pressures all around us trying to make us fit in. Square pegs jammed into round holes may have the outward appearance of fitting in. But it’s a forced and false fit that gets more painful with every passing day.

Earlier this week I¸ordered new field guides for moths and spiders – yes, you read that properly. Moths and spiders. I was quite delighted when they arrived. They join my library which already includes field guides for birds, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies.

I plan to spend this winter afternoon studying a handful of photographs I’ve taken over the last few summers. Photographs saved with the files names like “Unidentified Moth” and “Spider TBD”. I will quite enjoy the activity and look eagerly forward to expanding my nature study this coming summer to these species.

“Find what makes your heart sing and create your own music.” ~ Mac Anderson, Founder of Simple Truths and Accessories Inc.

Yes, I am a nature geek. These creatures hold an endless fascination for me. There is nothing I enjoy more than strolling through conservation areas on the hunt for a bird, butterfly, dragonfly – and now moth and spider – that I have not seen before.

The journey inward to discover what makes my heart sing took many years and is continuing still. It took many years to realize it was more important than any outward journey I would ever take and far longer.

I do realize that one cannot be entirely self-focused. We all must live in the world at large, earn a living and relate to our fellow man. But we are only able to do that successfully if we make the inner journey and embrace the identity we find there.

Nature and its creatures have become my living metaphor for who I am and how I must live my life. I am unique, one-of-a-kind and a mystery that continues to unfold. The last word on the subject:

“What a gloomy thing, not to know the address of one’s soul.” ~ Victor Hugo, French Poet, Novelist and Dramatist

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com  or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.  Visit www.smashwords.com to download a free preview of the e-book version.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2.  Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Climate Change: The Unendurable Price of Neglect

Hmmm, should we look upon this January thaw as a welcome reprieve from winter or a not-so-subtle reminder that the clock is ticking on climate change?

January in this neck of the woods is usually bitter cold, blustery indoor weather. But this weekend has brought a sudden thaw. Temperatures have risen up the thermometer to tempt us into thinking we’ve bypassed the dead of winter and vaulted into spring.

As welcoming as this weather is for those of us who view winter as something to grudgingly endure, we cannot ignore the evidence of the countdown clock on climate change.

Long-term buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is trapping heat and warming up the land, oceans and atmosphere. Extreme weather – severe droughts, deadly heat waves and record numbers of tornados to name but a few – are battering Mother Earth with long term consequences that may be irreversible.

I fear that we will begin to lose some of those small wonders of nature that feed my soul like nothing else can. Where will I find a replacement for…

The regal graces – velvet black and frosted blues, sculpted wings and teardrop scallops – of the Black Swallowtail?

The golden flash of black-flecked orange of a Great Spangled Fritillary perched on the purple-pink tendrils of a wildflower?

The sunlight washed wings and marvellously camouflaged abdomen of a Fawn Darner?

The subtle shades of brown, puddle eyespots and gracefully sketched streaks of a Northern Pearly Eye?

These are magnificent and delicate creations that mankind cannot recreate. But we can erase them from nature’s palette all too easily through our neglect.

Let these tiny miracles of creation be metaphors for what we owe the world we live in and for the price we’ll be if we fail to pay the debt.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.comor the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet

home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

The Paradox of Living in an Age of Faith

“I do not believe in Belief. But this is an Age of Faith, and there are so many militant creeds that, in self defence, one has to formulate a creed of one’s own. Tolerance, good temper and sympathy are no longer enough in a world where ignorance rules, and Science, which ought to have ruled, plays the pimp. Tolerance, good temper and sympathy — they are what matter really, and if the human race is not to collapse they must come to the front before long.” ~ E. M. Forster, 1879 – 1970, English Author and Critic

Hmmm, what does it mean to live in an “Age of Faith” – and is it within our reach?

I stumbled across the above quotation in one of those fortuitous moments when I was casting about for something to get my creative juices flowing. It is the opening paragraph from a 1938 E. M. Forster essay.

What struck me about these words is how well they translate to the here and now. It is difficult, in these shape-shifting times, to find something concrete and durable in which to believe and trust. Every now and then we hit upon something that seems rock solid. But change is always poised to strike and split the rock in half.

It’s not that there are no ideologies out there for us to consider and adopt if we choose. There is an embarrassment of riches which it comes to creeds competing for our support. Unfortunately, they run from one end of the spectrum to the other with little common ground.

All too often, those who embrace a particular creed are willing, quite literally, to fight to the death to defend it. Wars are raging in many countries as we speak between factions who are locked in bitter hatred for one another. Case in point: After two years of bloodletting in Syria, hope of peace negotiations gaining traction seems slim at best.

Forster’s seems to be odds with himself when he speaks of the need for “tolerance, good temper and sympathy”. In one breath, he says these qualities are no longer enough – and yet, in the next he asserts they must come to the front if the human race is to survive.

Now, 75 years later, that divide seems even wider. But the fulcrum is very much the same today as it was then – ignorance and blind adherence to carved-in-stone creeds. As long as there is no willingness to seek a common ground, as long as win or lose in the absolute are considered the only acceptable outcomes, the conflict will never end.

So are we really living in an “age of Faith”? Is that not a contradiction in terms when the world is divided again and again along us and them lines? The sudden light in this paradox is found in the metaphorical nature of faith itself. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr:

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

Tolerance, good temper and sympathy are each leaps of faith. They require great courage and the willingness to reach beyond ignorance. The final word on the subject belongs to philosopher and theologian Saint Augustine:

“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Follow Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm regularly at this site. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Originating at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2.

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Obituary for Our Dear Friend Privacy

Hmmm, how will Wikipedia define “privacy” by the year 2050? Could it be something like this?

Obsolete term referring to the quality or state of being apart from others. The last precise instance of quantifiable privacy cannot be pinpointed. However, it is generally agreed that privacy ceased to exist for all intents and purposes in the year 2045.

This may sound paranoid. But it is closer to truth than most of us realize. What got me thinking in this direction? A state-of-the-art security research and solutions company has exposed vulnerabilities in a high tech “Smart TV” currently on the market.

The TV unit in question runs a Linux-based operating system. Apparently, a cybercriminal could hack into this TV and use the built-in webcam to spy on you and your family. If that doesn’t send shivers down your spine, I don’t know what will. But that’s not the end of the story

On the nuisance side of the equation, the hacker could take control of the TV allowing him or her to change channels and mess with the volume and other settings.

But here’s the really frightening scenario. Once the TV has been compromised, the hacker could steal files that were stored on a USB drive while it was plugged into the Smart TV – family photos, work documents etc.

Apparently, the hacker could also access the “widget configuration data” which could lead him or her to user names and passwords for online accounts. Now the door is open to identity theft.

No doubt this is but one of the many risks that exist on the front lines of technology. Truth be told, we can’t know for sure anymore who may be lurking in the Ethernet waiting to take advantage of us.

Policing the cyber realm is next to impossible. Even when a cybercriminal is caught, prosecution is fraught with difficulties. The law lags a good ways behind the advancement of technology. At some point, it becomes just too fuzzy to prove guilt with all the high tech layers involved.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the advance of technology has given law enforcement many new tools to track down criminals. But it’s the proverbial double-sided coin. The same tools the law enforcement profession uses to capture offenders are equally useful to those on the other side of the equation.

We’re too far down the high tech highway to turn back now. We past the last turnaround point a few million cyber miles ago. The obituary for our dear friend privacy has already been written. So what is final line of defence?

I can only answer in the voice of metaphor. We’ll need to become like the wind where our most precious possessions are involved. No paper records. No digital files. We must safeguard those treasures inside 19th century poet Christina Rossetti’s world:

Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you: But when the leaves hang trembling, The wind is passing through.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

My Christmas Wish for a World Weary of Bad News

“One of the worst things about civilization is that… the newspaper fetches you the troubles of everybody all over the world, and keeps you down hearted and dismal most of the time, and it’s such a heavy load for a person.”

Hmmm, care to hazard a guess regarding who authored of this quotation – and, more to the point, when?

The answer may surprise you. It certainly did surprise me. I’m betting that you unconsciously placed this quotation somewhere in the last 25 years. But the fact is this quotation is attributed to famous American author and humourist Mark Twain who lived between 1835 and 1910.

Mark Twain was one of the most quotable writers of all time. Most of his quotations are humorous observations on life and the foibles of the human race. It’s not often that you come across one as sobering as this particular quotation.

I wonder if Twain had any idea how well this observation would survive test of time or how many magnitudes greater the fact would be a century later. He may just be rolling over in his grave now as he realizes how prophetic his words were destined to become.

Technology has compressed the world dramatically. We now can learn of things that happen on the other side of the globe literally within minutes. And unfortunately, bad news travels fast.

I’ll be honest. I rarely watch the TV news and I only occasionally read a newspaper. The news bytes I get from the radio and the internet keep me in the loop as much as I care to be.

It’s not that I want to stick my head in the sand and shut out what’s happening outside my field of vision. I do care about the plight of people in underdeveloped countries. I do whisper prayers for an end to the conflict in countries that are locked year after year in armed conflict.

But for the sake of my sanity I have to consciously keep a filter in place so only a certain amount of the details of the bad news infiltrates my consciousness. It’s a self-preservation instinct that has evolved over time and is regularly reinforced.

Part of the problem, of course, is that the “news” industry focuses almost exclusively on bad news. It latches onto tragic stories and explores them from every conceivable angle for weeks on end. The media will no doubt argue that they have a responsibility to report the news, good or bad, and dig deep to show us the whole story. In short, “We’re only doing our job.”

But I’m enough of an optimist to believe that there are as many heart-warming stories out there as there are heart-wrenching ones. Is it naïve of me to believe that the media has an obligation to show a balanced view of the world? Maybe so, but I rather be naïve than jaded.

If I were to choose a metaphor for the media in this day and age, it would be sharks on a blood trail with the inevitable feeding frenzy. I wish that now and then they would run against the current and be playful dolphins showing us the uplifting moments of life. Perhaps then Mark Twain could rest easy and I’d watch the news more often.

On that note, I wish a joyful and restful Christmas to all and a New Year filled with playful dolphins as far as the eye can see!

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

 

The Sandy Hook School Shooting: Common Ground for the First Mile

Hmmm, where within the endless stories within stories of the Sandy Hook School Shooting tragedy can we find the common ground we so desperately need?

I heard about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting like most people did – through the media and through social network postings. I felt the collective, continent-wide shiver of sorrow, the aftershocks of outrage and the “How can something like this happen again?” cries of incomprehension.

So many stories within the story. So many subplots and offshoots and diverse perspectives.

Such overwhelming grief and despair for the families of the victims. Wounds that will never fully heal. Lives that will never be fully normal again.

Incomprehensible trauma for those who were present and survived. Afraid to close their eyes for fear of the nightmares. Fearful to step outside their homes into a world where such atrocities are possible.

Soul-crushing guilt and self-reproach for the remaining family members of the deeply trouble young man who perpetrated the act. Why did I not see it? Did I say or do something that pushed him over the edge? Do I grieve him or renounce him? How can I ever hold up my head in public again?

Daunting challenges for those who will have to walk through the school doors again and try to restore some sense of order, security and trust while trying not to keep looking over their shoulder.

The firestorm of the gun control debate fanned white hot again. This would never have happened if proper laws were in place. Individual rights versus the collective good – where is the tipping point? Tears are not enough – when will the powers that be finally act?

The mental health epidemic that no one seems to know how to stem. How emotional turmoil can reach such a state of utter despair that violence and bloodshed seem the only way out. Where do you even start to address a problem that lies hidden in plain sight?

How far should the media go in their responsibility to report tragedies? Who do we call to account when that responsibility migrates into a feeding frenzy that last for weeks?

Where was God in all of this? How can you have faith in a world where such horrific things happen? If I hear one more person say “My prayers go out to”…

What responsibility do we – who are hundreds or thousands of miles away from the scene of the event – have to prevent it from happening again? Is it enough to express our grief and outrage and add our voices to the cries for reform? Or does change start at our own doorstep?

Metaphors falter in the face of such overwhelming dilemmas. The questions are perplexing and never-ending. The answers are elusive – and it seems bordering on the impossible to arrive at a consensus.

Perhaps the best we can achieve is to put aside our divergent perspectives and our deep rooted, etched in stone opinions. Finding common ground is the first step. If we can unite in our grief and outrage, we may walk the first mile in the long, arduous road to a solution.

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 . Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.

Meditations on an Inconspicuous December Day

“Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick fruit.” ~ Anton Chekhov, 1860 – 1904, Russian Physician, Dramatist and Author

Hmmm, where in this gray December day is the flicker and the flame of inspiration?

We’re still two weeks away from winter solstice – the time at which the sun appears at noon at its lowest altitude above the horizon. Or, in layman’s terms, the first official day of winter. But being impatient by nature, I’m already growing weary of the season.

In part, my early impatience is a reflection of the fact that old man winter seems reluctant to take hold. We’ve had only a slight dusting of snow once or twice. The dreary grays, washed out browns and muddy greens of November are still the hues that I see from out my window.

Chekhov nudges me a few shades in the right direction. Every day can’t be glorious. If I can find some meaning in lackluster days like this, the glory days of spring and summer will be all the more delightful. Or to put it another way:

“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.” ~ George Santayana, 1863 – 1952, Philosopher, Essayist, Poet and Novelist

I can see the wisdom in this statement. It takes no effort to be hopelessly in love with spring. Every part of my being rises to that calling. But to answer the call of the changing seasons and find encouragement there is a more deep rooted form of happiness.

It is not an absence of colour that I see from out my window. It’s just a different palette. Muted shades and sober hues that speak a language I haven’t yet learned to understand. I need to look deeper and listen more intently. Perhaps then I will discover that:

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather; only different kinds of weather.” ~ John Ruskin, 1819 – 1900, Art Critic, Watercolourist, Social Thinker and Philanthropist

And yet, there is no spirit-stirring sunshine today nor refreshing rain to wash away the drab curtain of the sky. No gentle breeze to rustle the evergreens and no angel blanket of glittering white snow to soften the edges of barren trees.

There is more of absence than presence today in the weather. Halfway between here and there with no indication of arrival anytime soon. But perhaps that is its own message. I need to learn to be patient and see the graces of smoke curling and unfurling, waving like willow limbs, above the silent rooftops.

If I look long enough and with patience sufficient, I may come into the understanding that Aristotle possessed: In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.

In so many ways, more than I able to conceive, nature and its moods is a metaphor for the path we trace through life. Sometimes we soar amongst the clouds, sometimes we stumble amidst the stones. Now and then we retreat in confusion and, every so often, against our wishes, we fall out of rhythm. Wisdom is learning that every season of the soul has its purpose.

“Nature always wears the colours of the spirit.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803 – 1882, Essayist, Lecturer and Poet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog .

~ Follow Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm regularly at this site. Categories: Shifting Winds, Sudden Light, Deep Dive, Songs of Nature, Random Acts of Metaphor. Originating at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2.

Or subscribe to my Twitter site (mdyetmetaphor) to receive tweets when blog postings go up.

The” Normal” Conspiracy

“Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.” ~ Albert Camus, Albert Camus, 1913 – 1960), French Author, Journalist, and Philosopher

Hmmm, where is that mythical land of legend called normal?

In a recent posting, I went on a bit of a rant about people who use their unique skills and abilities for unproductive and sometimes destructive purposes. I held a grudge against a specific faction who had aimed their antisocial behaviour in my direction.

A reader took me to task on this subject by pointing out that people who display antisocial behaviour sometimes do so because they feel spurned by society. They don’t fit the popular conception of normal and are therefore relegated to the fringes of our culture.

This started me thinking about the slippery concept of normal and where the boundary line sits between it and the equally fuzzy abnormal.

At one end of the spectrum, we are all absolutely unique. Science tells us that each and every one of us has a distinctive DNA pattern (with the exception of identical twins) and that our fingerprints are entirely unique.

And so, from a purely scientific perspective, there is no such thing as normal. We are each a one-off that has never been seen before and will never be seen again when we are gone.

On the other hand, we all have things in common. Everyone in the world has one of eight different blood types. And thank God we do, as that allows us to donate blood or body organs to save another person’s life.

There are numerous behaviour profiling systems in existence which classify and assign us to a particular personality type. We are similar to other people in our category by virtue of how we think, react and behave. We generally get along better with other people in our category because we are more or less on the same wavelength.

However, look deeper into these profiling systems and you realize that none of the categories are an exact point on the psychology map. At best, each of them is a spectrum. Everyone in Category A falls somewhere along a line between broadly defined start and end points.

So where exactly does normal fall in the midst of all these differences and similarities and along the various (and never entirely agreed upon) spectrums? At best, normal is a range – a very, very broad one – which shape-shifts as cultural norms evolve over time.

I think we would all be better off if we banished the word normal, along with the value judgements we make based on it, from our vocabulary. Then perhaps there would no longer be fringes to our society and individuals banished to them.

Society becomes a conspiracy when we see it as a snapshot in time. We’re all far better off when we filter it through the lens of metaphor where it becomes a kaleidoscope of endless variations on a beautiful and timeless theme.

 ~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.

~ Subscribe to “Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm” at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.