Lessons Learned

About fifteen years ago I received some excellent advice about how to live my life. It's not so much an answer as a question I should ask, but invariably forget. I'm usually too quick in reacting to remember to ask myself "What would a normal person do in this situation?"

It's no surprise that I'm not a picket fence, salt of the earth, square, at least not to me. The thing is, no matter how I feel about those people, simply put they're right, and always have been. Those are the people who are happiest, who succeed in achieving their goals, and who instinctively know how to act in situations that I fumble. Part of it, sure, is having a strong sense of self-worth, but another part is not having all the flawed baggage I carry.

If I act the way a "normal" person would, the results are invariably better than what first comes to my mind. I don't mind that, I accept it, but it's rare that I remember to rein in my reactions and to question my motives.

I'm in a situation now where every fiber (fibre?) of my being is telling to respond in a certain way, but I'm equally certain that no normal person would do what I want to. No, I'm never sure how someone normal would react, but I can ask or sometimes think it through or out. Usually it requires a course of action diametrically opposed to my gut instinct.

I don't know how to act, but I think the best thing to do is nothing at all. Just accept reality and not try to change or manipulate it.