The Olympic and Paralympic games have been bringing me to tears for over a month. 

It’s been beautiful to watch creators like Lucy Edwards share how she gets to experience the goal ball tournament as a blind person. I’m happy for this lady like I know her 😅There’s something deeply hopeful about seeing an entire world designed with disabled people at the forefront. 

So yea I’ve been blubbering a lot. 

The Biggest Lesson

In addition to that, several athletes have shared a sentiment that energizes me. 

In several behind the scenes interviews, athletes mentioned how uncanny it was to live in the olympic/paralympic village, where everyone is exquisite at what they do. Some stated it’s hard to remember how uncommon it is to be a world class athlete. 

They almost forgot to marvel at the incredible feat they had achieved, because they were surrounded by a bunch of other people who did it too. 

I find this to be a very interesting use of normalization. 

Most of us are quite sensitive to the people in our environment and we have to negotiate the culture of the space we share (emotionally or literally). 

I’m coming to realize that I want that feeling they’re describing. 

I’m aggressively plotting to surround myself with people who normalize my way of life. This doesn’t mean that I want to only be around people who make the exact same choices as me. But instead, I want to be enveloped in a community of folks who consistently choose to honor their rhythms and intuition. 

Right now, I hear  of “you’re so brave” or “wow, you’re just so comfortable being different”. This type of “praise” wears thin pretty quickly. 

I don’t want it to be remarkable that I make choices that feel right even if they ‘don’t make sense’. 

I want to be steeped in the atmosphere of other creators who are so deeply themselves, that each individual’s expression of uniqueness feels excessively normal. 

Here’s the plan I’ve outlined to get there: 

• Allocating time in my schedule for random workshops: Like my local community college’s metal smithing intensive.
• If someone is wearing cool pants, I commit to complimenting them: This is less because I think it will create conversation and more an energetic signal to the universe that I’m open to socializing.
• Committing to regular in person community service: I can’t explain logically how this is related, but something about it feels like the right direction. 
• Reading more: Reading drops me into another person’s world – whether fictional or real. And it reminds me that there are many many people on this earth and at least 17% of them I could probably vibe with. 

Thanks for reading. If you have any suggestions, feel free to reply and let me know! 

Best, 

AS