Well, it's just a matter of whether you want to be "Normal." I would take it as a compliment if someone doesn't view me as normal, so it's just a matter of perception. I don't want to be normal. I hope none of you want to be normal, because to be normal in the eyes of the world usually means we are limiting ourselves. It's a matter of looking at this word, "normal." You could ask them, "Well, what do you define as normal?" They may think a normal job is where we make money.
You don't want to get into defending yourself. Don't defend yourself for doing beneficial actions. Why should we have to defend ourselves for doing good? In the beginning, I would often get into defending myself and have to keep reminding myself, "I don't have to defend myself to anybody." If my life is making me happy, why do I have to live a life that other people think I should live? Each of us has the freedom of conscience and the freedom to make our own choices. That's the wonderful part about democracy. We can choose where we wish to go and what we wish to do. I haven't really had many normal jobs in my life, fortunately, but I've always gotten by, and it seems like this good Kamma tends to support me and bring benefits to me.
"Hearing the beat of a different drum" is an expression that has been used through the centuries to mean living a life that's fulfilling to ourselves, not just fulfilling what society expects us to be and being a "brick in the wall,". I certainly didn't want to be a brick in the wall. It's okay not to be normal, to be different. We don't have to defend ourselves.
I remember I lived in a tiny, little hut in the Australian bush while I was working on a book. I liked living in my nice, tiny, little hut. Once, someone visited me and I made them a nice cup of tea. Then they started going on about, "I couldn't live like this. I wouldn't be able to give up this and I wouldn't be able to give up that," and I thought to myself, "But I'm not asking you to." I didn't say anything at the time, and I think we can probably let these things go by. But I was happy, so why would I want to go and live like them?
Often, people experience fear on meeting people who are different. I sometimes found that they felt guilty when they saw I was doing something different, even though I wasn't trying to make them feel guilty. I often find that a lot of it comes from the fact that Westerners have difficulty in taking joy with the good qualities of others - Sympathetic Joy - because it makes them feel guilty. But we don't have to take that on.
I will comment, though, that after we got our book published, we got a lot more praise from relatives because then we were "normal."