I am flying to Auckland soon, which is my old home city, to attend a VFF event. My mother lives in Auckland and has a spare room. A month back, I alerted her to my possible journey and not having seen each other for a year or two, she was excited to have me stay. I messaged last night, and you can read the very short conversation below.

I could have told Mum a little white lie; however, I was unsure what her stance on VFF/Truth/Misinformation was. Now I know.

Are we returning to normal? Following this brief and to-the-point exchange, my final response in the ‘correspondence’ reflects my perplexed state and my continued love for my old Mum. I am not so sure that we are returning to, or will ever return to, normal, and I am convinced there was no normal in the first place.

“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” Krishnamurthy

Having studied psychology and coached thousands of people over the last twenty-seven or so years, I can feel quite confident that it is not us who have become sick. We have become exhausted and fragmented by attempting to adjust to an increasingly inhuman and anti-nature environment called civilisation.

Civilisation has cultured a context lacking any distinction between who we are and what we believe and do. We have a culture where the brokers of numerous ‘made up’ agendas shout from their schoolyard platforms and pontificate the doctrine of name calling and fear feeding to their subjects.

There is a saying: blood is thicker than water. There is no normal to go back to because blood was blood back then (the old normal), and now we know, literally and figuratively, that blood is not the same.

There will not be a new normal because, unlike a fridge, miserably bussing away in the corner, robotically engaged in its sole purpose of seeking its four degrees of homeostasis. We, humans, are allostatic, forever adjusting, redefining, flexible and infinitely curious as we evolve naturally within an ever-changing natural world.

When one’s mother cannot see her son due to her belief in the fantasy of Fire a Fury, force-fed into her veins, we know we are looking at something that is no longer normal. Nature has been lost as the mind, drawn into the META, loses connection to what is ultimately natural.

Daily, we must redefine ourselves and what ‘normal’ is; recalibrate and reframe our new world and how we wish to build meaning. The response from my mother and my family, in general, has inspired me to dig even deeper, strengthening what I know to be ‘right and honourable’ for me and to act accordingly. My family’s fear-based response is a powerful guide to how essential it is for me to remain forever curious, asking those questions we shouldn’t ask (LOL), and steadfast in knowing that the people we meet are infinitely more than what they say or do.

Return to normal? No thanks.

One certain thing: a story, no matter how true or not, can change an entire world and change it so quickly, and not necessarily for the better.

Courageous curiosity has become dishonoured by the status quo, fearful of the possibilities and adventure that asking questions may inspire, yet the courageously curious have always innovated.

With an insatiable courageous curiosity – keep turning up and standing in your heart and soul’s truth – it’s addictive and contagious.