Transcending the Norms

To live extraordinary lives, we need to have extraordinary thoughts. To transcend the unsatisfying, we need to get out of our self and “tease” the universe with our wit, our strength, our beliefs, our spirit and the unbreakable faith that it will give back an abundance of blessings. Such behavior can be perceived as upsetting the standards or the “norms” set by our society.

Patterns are drawn to maintain a certain order. Systems are established to warrant a peaceful flow. Society likes ritualistic methods, and often rewards standardized behavior that doesn’t disturb the habitual rhythm of our daily lives.

While tranquil currents of life may be appealing to most, a small minority – the black sheep of the herd – foster the bearings of progress that shape civilizations, their rules, ethics, and their modest order.

Today, amidst fierce tensions and fears, we witness leaders relentlessly adjusting known standards to reinvent rules that were dwelling for decades without identifiable resistance. Fact is, when circumstances are compelling enough, meaningful phenomenon occurs. When abuse settles without repercussions and only benefits a small clique of political wizards, waters of tension boil to overflow the jugs that confined them.

Resurrecting from the tombs of the wise man

Resurgence, emanating from deeply-rooted controversies and disagreements, resurrects from the tombs of the “wise men” in the form of a geyser, heroically silent but ready to gush as it overheats. Subterranean energies, tendered to sufficient pressure, jutted with magnetic bonds, and the right “plumbing” structure set to convey steam and hot water to the surface, build the perfect recipe for an overturn. The new paradigm born from the critical need to adjust to a new life that was suddenly forced upon us, creates intrinsic agitation and questioning of all that is.

We are changing. Our world is changing.

Our warfare comes from within, as we challenge the basic principles erected by the “Book of Life”. We know that virtue is knowledge but is our virtue remodeled to fit a world that seems to have wandered a little too far from its roots? Is our knowledge so tarnished by our greed that we can’t think straight? Are we so shortsighted that we can’t see the obvious, maintaining the same road to self-annihilation? Are we diligent enough to make our call and election sure, so we stop stumbling? It appears that we don’t fear severe consequences of detaching ourselves from essential teachings and guidelines, as we elect to discard them, labeling them defective and obsolete. They were, after all, written two thousand years ago…

Like children, we seem to enjoy testing the waters, pushing the limits, bluffing the universal knowledge, so we can jiggle in the pride of having spawned a reaction that justifies our existence, making us feel worthy and full of power.

How far are we willing to go? Destructive doctrines stem from illiterate false prophets that find their drive in their thirst to bring injurious profanations. It is worrisome to observe that many of us follow their hurtful ways, even if they see themselves exploited and abused to their core. Could their ideological drive tarnish their logical thinking? Let’s attempt not to discard the fate of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah turned into ashes for living ungodly lives.

The path to long-term bliss

Transcending the norms doesn’t mean spawning in the blend of lawless deeds. Long-term evolutional bliss can only be achieved if its core principles are bound to righteous beliefs. Transcending the norms is initiating mindful questioning while simultaneously offering healthier alternatives. If we judge the law, we are not doers, but only judges of it.

Our civilization is two-thousand years old and has resisted numerous attempts of total destruction coming from wars or diseases. Although it often reached the point of insurmountable failure, it always bounced back. While faith was always the trigger to resurrect from the dark ages, it had to fight with reason to continue its journey towards new levels of perceived bliss.

Our human minds have natural tendencies to be nostalgic, always referring to a past for which we always yearn. Peace versus war. Intelligence versus stupidity. We can always find reasons to want to go back to what seemed closer to idealistic views of our own existence. But aren’t we made to embrace progress and strive together to constantly advance to new levels? And isn't progress often ignited by crisis and catastrophes?

Can’t we focus on what we love and dwell on improving its status instead of being trapped in what we don’t, thereby attracting more of it?

We may be at the verge of the construction of a new society. Who knows? Key is to keep going. Key is to keep believing and to doing all that we can to overcome hurdles, barriers, obstacles and disasters that always end up proving that we have more power than we think...

Catherine