So according to this Freaks live longer, have more emotionally stable children, don't polute the world with junk, are better educated, and are just generally better global citizens.
Have you hugged a freak today?
Read on:
WHAT'S NORMAL CAN MAKE YOU SICK
By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D.
What is your favorite New Year's resolution? Social psychologist, Eric
Fromm once wrote, "Just because millions of people seem to share the
same forms of pathology it does not make them sane." Is what we see as
"normal" daily living in fact, making us crazy. If you engage in the
normal way of life for the majority of Americans, are you risking your
health? Is one of your New Year's resolutions to "normalize" your
life?
Newspaper columnist, Ellen Goodman writes, "Normal is getting dressed
in
clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that
you
are still paying for, in order to get to the job that you need so you
can pay for the clothes, the car, and the house that you leave empty
all
day in order to afford to live in it." She asserts that such a
lifestyle is the norm for most Americans.
When the Surgeon General of the U.S. reports that 85 percent of the
illnesses for which we seek medical treatment are "related to
lifestyle," then is the American way of life making us sick? Dr. Paul
Pearsall believes it is. In his book, Toxic Success, he writes,
"Eating
too much, exercising too little, consuming at levels that boggle the
mind, and increased disconnection from people and nature, have become
the normal or usual ways of the successful American way of life, but
are
these behaviors healthy for our planet and us? Does going along with
this way of living and view of success really result in the sweet
success we long for, or is it a form of commonly accepted cultural
pathology that is polluting our planet and poisoning our souls?"
I want to review some of the specifics about what is normal for the
vast
majority of us. Here are some activities most of us have come to
accept
as normal:
---We overeat and under-exercise. More than 65 percent of Americans
are
obese. We take in thousands of calories more than we need, and we burn
a lot fewer that we ingest.
---We increase our debt load in order to purchase more than we need.
The
average American carries almost $8,000 in credit card debt. Given the
rate of interest on plastic debt, most of us pay twice as much that the
original price for our material possessions.
---We shop and watch television a lot more than we interact with our
children. The average American spends six hours a week shopping; 36-48
hours a week watching TV; and only forty minutes per week playing with
their children.
---We neglect our primary relationship. 60-65 percent of marriages do
not survive. The divorce rate is twice what it was 40 years ago. The
average American couple spends less than 12 minutes per day talking
with
one another, and then the topic of conversation is focused on problems
with the kids, with money, with themselves and little or no time
focusing on creating the relationship they both would like to have.
---We spend more money on acquiring "stuff" than we do on education.
Americans spend approximately $80 billion a year on watches and jewelry
and $65 billion on higher education. We have twice as many shopping
centers and malls as we have high schools.
---We build larger and larger houses. They remain empty of people and
filled with that "stuff" that we think we need to be happy. One ad
asks
us to bring our unneeded stuff to market so the "understuffed" can buy
it (probably with credit cards). Comedian, George Carlin cynically
describes our homes as, "just a pile of stuff with a cover on it."
Many years ago, psychologist, Abraham Maslow, wrote, "Certainly it
seems
more and more clear that what we call 'normal' in psychology is really
a
psychopathology of the average...so widely spread that we don't even
notice it." I hope you have the courage to not be normal. A cancer
patient once remarked, "Trying to be normal almost killed me. The only
way to survive in this crazy world is to be willing to be weird enough
not to fit into it."
Perhaps one of our New Year's resolutions needs to be resolving to be
calm, peaceful, loving, content, and connected with those we love. How
weird is that? Living like that is definitely not normal for most of
us.
Have you hugged a freak today?
Read on:
WHAT'S NORMAL CAN MAKE YOU SICK
By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D.
What is your favorite New Year's resolution? Social psychologist, Eric
Fromm once wrote, "Just because millions of people seem to share the
same forms of pathology it does not make them sane." Is what we see as
"normal" daily living in fact, making us crazy. If you engage in the
normal way of life for the majority of Americans, are you risking your
health? Is one of your New Year's resolutions to "normalize" your
life?
Newspaper columnist, Ellen Goodman writes, "Normal is getting dressed
in
clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that
you
are still paying for, in order to get to the job that you need so you
can pay for the clothes, the car, and the house that you leave empty
all
day in order to afford to live in it." She asserts that such a
lifestyle is the norm for most Americans.
When the Surgeon General of the U.S. reports that 85 percent of the
illnesses for which we seek medical treatment are "related to
lifestyle," then is the American way of life making us sick? Dr. Paul
Pearsall believes it is. In his book, Toxic Success, he writes,
"Eating
too much, exercising too little, consuming at levels that boggle the
mind, and increased disconnection from people and nature, have become
the normal or usual ways of the successful American way of life, but
are
these behaviors healthy for our planet and us? Does going along with
this way of living and view of success really result in the sweet
success we long for, or is it a form of commonly accepted cultural
pathology that is polluting our planet and poisoning our souls?"
I want to review some of the specifics about what is normal for the
vast
majority of us. Here are some activities most of us have come to
accept
as normal:
---We overeat and under-exercise. More than 65 percent of Americans
are
obese. We take in thousands of calories more than we need, and we burn
a lot fewer that we ingest.
---We increase our debt load in order to purchase more than we need.
The
average American carries almost $8,000 in credit card debt. Given the
rate of interest on plastic debt, most of us pay twice as much that the
original price for our material possessions.
---We shop and watch television a lot more than we interact with our
children. The average American spends six hours a week shopping; 36-48
hours a week watching TV; and only forty minutes per week playing with
their children.
---We neglect our primary relationship. 60-65 percent of marriages do
not survive. The divorce rate is twice what it was 40 years ago. The
average American couple spends less than 12 minutes per day talking
with
one another, and then the topic of conversation is focused on problems
with the kids, with money, with themselves and little or no time
focusing on creating the relationship they both would like to have.
---We spend more money on acquiring "stuff" than we do on education.
Americans spend approximately $80 billion a year on watches and jewelry
and $65 billion on higher education. We have twice as many shopping
centers and malls as we have high schools.
---We build larger and larger houses. They remain empty of people and
filled with that "stuff" that we think we need to be happy. One ad
asks
us to bring our unneeded stuff to market so the "understuffed" can buy
it (probably with credit cards). Comedian, George Carlin cynically
describes our homes as, "just a pile of stuff with a cover on it."
Many years ago, psychologist, Abraham Maslow, wrote, "Certainly it
seems
more and more clear that what we call 'normal' in psychology is really
a
psychopathology of the average...so widely spread that we don't even
notice it." I hope you have the courage to not be normal. A cancer
patient once remarked, "Trying to be normal almost killed me. The only
way to survive in this crazy world is to be willing to be weird enough
not to fit into it."
Perhaps one of our New Year's resolutions needs to be resolving to be
calm, peaceful, loving, content, and connected with those we love. How
weird is that? Living like that is definitely not normal for most of
us.
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Seattle
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