I’ve found myself saying often in this season “when things get back to normal, we will…” but I’ve recently come to realise that this, our current moment, our current life, our very breathe in this instant, where we are right now, IS in fact our normal.

What does normal mean anyway?

Is there a plan, idea, rule or parameter that measures ‘normality’ (the condition of being normal; the state of being usual, typical, or expected.) or ‘normalcy’ (also: the condition of being normal; the state of being usual, typical, or expected.)?

Is there a right way, or an only way to navigate through our lives or through this season? No! Not really!

I guess what we are all waiting for is to have things return back to how they were before. But what if they don’t? Does that mean that we will never visit “normal” again? Is it gone for good? Is our future, our journey, our lives always then going to reflect abnormal, unusual, unexpected, and different? Are the current popular catch-phrases of ‘pivot’ and ‘unprecedented’ going to remain in daily use for some time to come?

Well, actually, I think the answer is yes! When I truly sit back and reflect, I realise that I have never had a “normal” day in my entire life. Because by using the word ‘normal’, we want it to mean our kind of PERFECT. We think it means that everything has gone exactly as we planned. That everything we expected happened, and everyone we came in contact with responded the right way, and it was perfect. I don’t know about you, but I have never had a perfect day in my entire life. Have you?

Everyday I have ever lived has seen unusual, imperfect, difficult, and unknown. Each day has brought the unexpected, unplanned, unseen and uncontrolled. Every single day I have had to navigate challenges, new ideas, others opinions, other people, my own imperfect self, and that’s before I even walked out of my house in the morning.

So, I’ve decided that I’m letting go of this myth of normal and I’m going to start living with an unexpected, unplanned, and unprepared ordinary. How do we do that, you might ask. Well, I think for me, that will look like the following:

• Take each day as it comes – with grateful, thankful and welcoming open arms. We are not assured of our next breath, or our next day on this earth. Let’s make each day count. Let’s make each moment important. Being grateful for all that you have and the world that surrounds. Seeing beautiful in the mundane and ordinary and thanking God for every single moment.
  
• Letting go of control, expectations and the unattainable search for perfection. We want to intentionally enjoy our life, but we can’t do that if we are always trying, striving, and reaching for things that can’t be met. Instead, let’s take heed of the very famous ‘Frozen’ song and “Let it go!” Giving things a try that we wouldn’t normally, accepting that our best is good enough, and making sure we enjoy the moment rather than worrying about all the things, are a few ways that we can work on this.

• Breath. Just breath! Smell the sunshine, listen to the rain drops splattering down on the veranda roof, notice the leaves swaying in the breeze, hear the birds singing their morning song. Take a moment to just be. This can become your new normal. It’s called paying attention. See the world around you through a new lens. Take everything in. Look, really look at what’s going on in your neighborhood, in the eyes of the people you meet, in the lives of the people who live in your house. Simply be! In this moment, just rest and breath. I promise, you will feel so much better for it.