Once we feared The Plague, wore masks self-consciously, became irritated, then bored. Some yearn for what was normal, calling it New Normal, cheating somewhat. New normal wouldn’t be normal.
Normal has distinct meanings. The primary one (conforming to or constituting a norm, rule or principle) is presently the least relevant. Nor is the secondary meaning (free from mental disorder) exactly in the forefront of our minds. And how about: having average intelligence or development?
I’m not sure I’d want to be average at anything. Being one of the herd? I’d rather be bad at whatever it was. Table manners, for instance
I’ve been retired for twenty-five years, long enough to regard retirement as normal. This is far from the case. Retirement is freedom if not always taken up. To think or write about something (occasionally even to do something) and then to go into the bedroom and lie on top of the duvet, eyes closed. Experiencing the sun. Wasting time by most standards.
But for 44½ years I worked. Even that wasn’t truly consistent. When I was young I got up reluctantly, later I willingly rose at 06.50. To begin with I did what others told me to do, later (as editor) I dictated my own working day. Holidays varied: I ski-ed in the Alps, I snorkelled off the Brittany cost.
Writing was a continuous thread. I even wrote short stories while doing National Service. On train journeys. Gradually I improved although this process consisted mainly of being aware of what to avoid. It isn’t boastful when I say I write better than I did. Early examples still exist for comparison. I could show you.
And writing isn’t just writing, it becomes the tool of intelligence. An aid to analysis, to expression. Abnormal things.
I have always thought that it is impossible to waste time. This notion is one of the best excuses for laziness I have ever come up with.
ReplyDeleteNormal is boring and overrated in my opinion. If whatever we're doing is enjoyable, it isn't time wasted, even if it is doing nothing... lately I've been doing a lot of that... nothing... and I'm rather liking it.
ReplyDelete"Early examples still exist for comparison. I could show you"
ReplyDeleteCare to give us a sample RR? it would be an abnormal thing (for me) and help to pass the time
Tom: You may be right. More often than not the suggestion that time is being wasted comes from an observer, not the person who is actually accused of doing the wasting. We do what we want to do, even if that includes twenty games of solitaire played consecutively in the early hours.
ReplyDeleteBohemian: "Normal" is a comparative term, not a definitive one. After all, a mass murderer's normal occupation consists of slaying people while the grateful funeral director is pleased to pursue his normal occupation by burying them. There's a further point of discussion in whether wasting someone else's time (eg, hoax calls to the fire brigade) is a different kettle of fish altogether.
Avus: I'm be pleased to provide examples and I saw it as a mere half-an-hour's work. A visit to the attic proved me wrong. A thick dusty folder carries a range of material (diaries, essays, magazine articles, novel drafts) dating back to 1953, some of it remarkably intimate, all of it copious. To avoid boring you I shall have to be selective in what I choose. Keep an eye open for a future post that will exceed my 300-word limit.