What’s normal

Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

You're not alone you know.

In counseling you soon realize that a lot of people seem to have it all together on the outside, but on the inside it is a different story.

I remember days when I was a school principal when I felt filled with dread going to school. I never got physically sick because I can't stand throwing up, but I had colleagues who actually did throw up from fear.

Yet they, like me, appeared 'normal' and functional to people around them.

One of my colleagues at a school down the road from mine seemed to have it together pretty well. We used to share similar grievances about work and life on occasions we'd get together, know we were in the same boat, and feel not so alone. Until he hung himself in the schoolhouse he lived in.

What a shock. He didn't have it together as much as we all thought.

So next time you see someone who's normal, or even some one who's a bit off the rails, take a moment to wonder what their world could be like on the inside. You might find yourself changing – becoming more 'normal' perhaps.