Francis Berger
  • Blog
  • My Work

Will You Return To Normal Or Seek A New Normal?

5/28/2020

4 Comments

 
Will things return to normal or will we all have to adjust to a new normal? 

A pertinent question if there ever was one, but as far as I'm concerned the question is of secondary importance. What matters more is this - should we desire to return to our normal selves or should we seek to establish new normal selves? 

For the sake of argument let's pretend everything returns to the way it was before the birdemic. Does this imply that we should also return to the way we were before the 'crisis'? 

And what if things never return to normal? Well, this will likely exclude any chance of slipping comfortably back into our previous 'normal' selves and lives. On the contrary, we will probably be forced into accommodating and adapting to the new normal world in various ways. 

So which do you prefer? A return to normal or a new normal? 
 
Either way, we should be inspired to establish new normals for ourselves in this time and place. If our previous normals were on the right track, we should take this opportunity to intensify our efforts. If our previous normals were wayward and misguided, we should seize the moment and strive for more focused and authentic ways of living and being. 

As we emerge from the present, we should aim to discard all that is negative in normal - all that is ordinary, conventional, routine, and unexceptional - and embrace all that is positive in normal - all that is sane, healthy, lucid, and right minded. We should then make these 'positive normal' attributes the foundation of our new normals.

Each new normal should be as unique as the individual possessing it, but it should possess a refreshed and deeper understanding of what mortal life in this world is really about and what we should be doing with it. 

That's my new normal, and I'll stick to it even if things go back to normal or some new normal begins to take shape around me. 
4 Comments
bruce charlton
5/29/2020 09:18:15

So far as I can see, there is zero possibility of returning to the normal of four months ago - the government and the media don't want it; and a great mass of British people don't want it either (for different reasons, somewhat).

People apparently suppose they can have the old normal plus social distancing, but they can't - it is not possible So widespread, intense but futile activity of doomed 'adaptation' of institutions to SD may delay realisation of our situation - as is no doubt the intention.

But the question is what is the new normal to be? (what is the aim?), or more exactly - what *motivates* the new normal?

If the motivation for change is merely that fear is wearing-off, that's not enough to make a good new normal. If it is that people want to do fun stuff, that will not suffice either.

Only if most people want something 'spiritual' and Christian rather than materialistic - might the new normal be a good situation. The thing is - I don't think unconscious or implicit good motivations will suffice now (if they ever did).

Good has has to be consciously chosen, and explicitly aimed-at. Good does not happen as an unintended consequence of self-ish, short-termist materialism.

So - if a good thing happens, if we really are heading for a good new normal - we *will* know about it, because people will be talking about it, explicitly.

Reply
Ingemar
5/29/2020 18:57:31

The "new normal" that the Establishment wants is 180 degrees separated from the "new normal" we should seek.

After months, someone in my family (other than my parents) finally responded to my protests of VirusRegime. As you might expect, she (a very highly educated leftist) countered every single objection I had with Establishment dogma. I know that in her mind she was doing me a favor, but this only widened the chasm between us.

I am not ashamed to admit that--between this impasse, the physical and spiritual isolation, and the newest round of despair porn (race war) that the Establishment is trying to foist upon us--I cried, bitterly. But in these disappointments, God is reminding me that He is there and He suffered for our sake.

I don't want to return to a "normal" where I am the master of my own life, responsible for everything and wise in my own ways.

Reply
bruce charlton
5/30/2020 13:55:01

The longer this goes on, the clearer it becomes that this 'new' normal world is something very deeply desired by a large proportion of Western people.

The Western Zeitgeist has simplified down to a very pure short-term materialism which is solidly believed, and (understandably) as a result the Western spirit solidly desires its own destruction.

At present, this suicide is dressed up with irrational denialism based on an absolute refusal to think independently and to consequences - the idea that everything can change... yet somehow nothing essential will change.

I suppose this will continue until the collapse begins to accelerate and feed upon itself. When it will become an explicit despair and desire for death.

Reply
Francis Berger
5/30/2020 16:18:58

@ Bruce - I quite agree with what you have expressed in your comments. I don't expect a return to normal or a new normal to offer anything beyond what already infects us at the collective level.

In fact, both would likely only lead to intensifications of the disease that gripped us before this whole 'crisis' came about. In this sense, a return to normal or any new normal that arises is undesirable, but most likely unavoidable.

Within this context, our responses at the individual level (perhaps very small group level - family, small circle of trusted friends) are the only things we can rely on. We must intensify our old normals (if they were properly aligned) or establish and maintain our own individual new normals to counteract whatever manifests at the collective level.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Blog and Comments

    Blog posts tend to be spontaneous, unpolished, first draft entries ranging from the insightful and periodically profound to the poorly-argued and occasionally disparaging.
     

    Comments are moderated. Anonymous comments are never published (please use your name or a pseudonym). 

    Emails welcome:

    f er en c ber g er (at) h otm   ail (dot) co m
    Blogs/Sites I Read
    Bruce Charlton's Notions
    Meeting the Masters
    From The Narrow Desert
    Synlogos ✞ Aggregator
    New World Island  
    New World Island YouTube
    ​Steeple Tea
    Berdyaev.com
    Adam Piggott
    Fourth Gospel Blog
    The Orthosphere
    Junior Ganymede

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012

    Picture
    A free PDF is also available in My Work. 
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.