Finding a new normal

Normal. An interesting word that can be interpreted in so many different ways. What is normal? As a society we class certain behaviours and lifestyles as being normal. Living in a house is normal, going to work or school is normal. Spending hours of your life navigating your way through the supermarket with a wonky wheeled trolley is normal. As we are all individuals we all have different ideas of what normal and normal life is. Many of our lives however, fall into society’s interpretation of a normal reality.
How many times have you heard people say “I lived a normal life until” I have heard people say that phrase so many times. When we experience something bad or negative that changes the course of our lives we refer to our past as our “normal  life” Life before things changed. We yearn for it back, for the time when we did things by rote. We yearn for the familiarity and comfort our previous life gave us.
The problem is life is full of twists, turns and changes. Nothing stays the same forever. When we spend our time thinking about our old life, our normal life, we lose sight of the new life we are living and the experiences we are being blessed with.
Epilepsy changed the course of my life. It changed not just the way I lived but also the way I thought and felt. It made my future uncertain. It changed my plans without asking for my consent and to me that just wasn’t fair. I found myself desperately wanting my “normal” life back. Wanting to feel the way I used to feel, wanting everything to be just the way it had been. I spent so long doing this that I lost sight of the new experiences I was having. I ignored the new things I was learning about life and myself.
The truth is that yes epilepsy changed my life and made my path a little more challenging but it also brought with it blessings and experiences I wouldn’t be without now. It has helped shape me into who I am and when I look back that is a better person than I was before. The truth is the life I am living now is just as normal as the one I was living before. It is simply just different. It includes new experiences, people and thoughts. It is a life that still brings me happiness and joy. It is a new kind of normal.
When changes happen life doesn’t stop. You simply find a new normal. Change isn’t something to be feared, whether it is something we choose to do or is forced upon us by circumstances. Change, be it good or bad, brings about changes of heart and feelings. It opens up new worlds and experiences. Change doesn’t mean the end of one life and the start of another. Change is simply a way of blending the two and finding your new normal.  

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