The New-New Normal?

Posted on May 19, 2020 by mitchteemley

Road to Failure

“The New Normal.” Well, that phrase got old fast–although not as old as the crisis that caused its overuse. And now we’re regrouping again. Society and individuals are trying to figure out how to get back to the Old Normal (what’s left of it), whether we can get back to it, and whether we even should. Should there be a New-New Normal? And if so, what should it look like? Some thoughts on getting there:

“Normal is just a setting on the dryer.” ~Patsy Clairmont

“Wherever you are is the entry point.” ~Kabir

“Civilized life, you know, is based on a huge number of illusions in which we all collaborate willingly. The trouble is we forget after a while that they are illusions and we are deeply shocked when reality is torn down around us.” ~J.G. Ballard

“Those who hunger for a return to normal must have at sometime in the past believed that what they had was normal.” ~Amelia Rose

Unless one starts afresh about things, one will certainly do nothing effective.” ~G.K. Chesterton

“Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” ~Winston Churchill

“Birthing is never easy or without pain, be it a universe, a child, or a fresh start in life. Contraction precedes expansion. Darkness comes before dawn. Joy follows pain. This is the way of things.” ~John Mark Green

“We will not compare ourselves with each other, as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.” ~Galatians 5:26 (The Message)

“What you leave behind says as much about you as what you bring along.” ~Jacquelyn Middleton

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” ~Marcel Proust

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” ~Helen Keller

“What if it’s the there
and not the here
that I long for?
The wander
and not the wait,
the magic
in the lost feet
stumbling down
the faraway street
and the way the moon
never hangs
quite the same.”

~Tyler Knott Gregson

About mitchteemley

Writer, Filmmaker, Humorist, Thinker-about-stuffer
This entry was posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

28 Responses to The New-New Normal?

  1. Eliza Ayres says:
    May 19, 2020 at 12:40 pm

    Reblogged this on Blue Dragon Journal.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  2. SMZ says:
    May 19, 2020 at 2:02 pm

    all good…

    that poem particularly….

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  3. Papa Hannah says:
    May 19, 2020 at 2:05 pm

    I like to consider “normal” and “Normalcy” as false words – with over 7 billion human lives and billions more animal lives, categorizing what life should be considered as “normal” is not only impossible, but inhibits us from being ourselves. The words I like to use in place of normal are happy, content, peaceful, confident, and determined. With those words, we don’t need to feel normal in order to be happy and peaceful. We can just be happy and peaceful. Hope you are well and safe as the world starts to reopen, Mitch! God Bless

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  4. Nancy E. Head says:
    May 19, 2020 at 2:11 pm

    And how about this one?

    “There’s no normal life, Wyatt. There’s just life.” Val Kilmer’s Doc Holliday in Tombstone.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  5. pastorpete51 says:
    May 19, 2020 at 2:49 pm

    Especially like Helen Keller’s take. If anyone could teach us about overcoming what seems impossible it would be her.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  6. Nancy Ruegg says:
    May 19, 2020 at 5:54 pm

    Love Eugene Peterson’s take on Galatians 5:26. Originals ARE more interesting than clones, and appreciating the originality of another (as opposed to envying or criticizing) is much more pleasant.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  7. Liz Gauffreau says:
    May 19, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    And yet, I still long for my own version of normal, as illusive as it may have been.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Yeah, Another Blogger says:
    May 19, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    What’s “normal” partly depends upon where you live on the globe, and upon where on the economic ladder you reside.

    That said, I’ll add this: We need an effective vaccine ASAP!

    Hi Mitch. Take care.

    Neil S.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  9. pkadams says:
    May 19, 2020 at 10:57 pm

    Joy comes in the morning!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. benjbensing says:
    May 20, 2020 at 6:03 am

    Wow, profound thoughts, Mitch. Thanks for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. c.f. leach says:
    May 20, 2020 at 4:39 pm

    Reblogged this on Rhemalogy and commented:
    My guest blog

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. c.f. leach says:
    May 20, 2020 at 4:56 pm

    When I reblogged to my website the transposition was not good. Am going to have to figure out a way to edit it because I could not do it from my site. Hope to have the reparation done before Sunday.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. Ann Coleman says:
    May 20, 2020 at 10:05 pm

    Those are interesting quotes! For me, the normal I hope to attain (not sure if it was there in the first place) is a reality that has much less fear and judgement, and a lot more hope and compassion. I find it in individual interactions, but not so much on the news and social media.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. Anita Bacha says:
    May 21, 2020 at 12:59 am

    I love all the quotes. Very inspiring and what a lovely poem. Thank you for sharing. Happy Thursday! Stay safe.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  15. Michael E. Lynch says:
    May 23, 2020 at 11:50 am

    Maybe “normal” is just a word we cling to when we are not comfortable with change. Everybody seems to be discussing the “new normal” on the internet, which would have been science fiction 50 years ago.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  16. editorbikash says:
    June 2, 2020 at 9:10 am

    wow profound thoughts

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  17. canadaslim says:
    June 4, 2020 at 9:10 am

    One day, Mitch, the air will calm, free of the Fever of disease and distress. We will return to the routines of regular life, the noises of civilization, and will one day speak not of struggle against a pandemic or revolt against injustice, but of deliverance from that which afflicts us.
    But there will be no new normal, not in the sense that there should be. Those that remains after the pandemic has passed and the violence has abated will release from within themselves a long-drawn sigh of delight that their assessment of their invincibility and immortality remains what it ever was. This illusion will be our strength and our innocence our shield. We cannot believe in the possibility of death by virus or violence can ever happen to us, for wouldn’t that make life absurd? Injustice and outrage and the basic unfairness of chance and circumstance are part of the human experience as much as they seem absurd and an antithesis to life.
    What is normal is that despite everything there are more things to be thankful than not. What is normal is that there is no final Victory, only the record of what had to be done to get to the place where we now are. What is normal is that there is a never-ending struggle against fear and fate. Joy is always in peril, afflictions are always personal, and life itself is always fleeting. The plague always returns and pain always resurfaces, but while we remember why we live and show others that their lives matter to us, then the struggle has meaning. And that is a normal I can embrace.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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