A recent documentary on the two year old Indian girl born with an extra set of arms and legs due to a parasitic twin follows the child and her family from her transformation from “goddess” to normal child. The little girl’s family and the village she lived in revered her as the reincarnation of a goddess and as such she brought attention and tourism which provided for her family and helped the community prosper. However, her condition was such that she would not have survived beyond her teens without intervention.

The Hump Day Hmm invites us to ponder the idea of when to leave well enough alone. Do all things “not normal” truly need fixing?

Perhaps it is because I am not feeling well as I write this but I have no opinion on this topic. I question the idea of normal and norms anyway. Nothing/no one could possibly survive too much scrutiny or measurement to fit the one size should fit all theory under which we live.

In the case of the goddess girl should her welfare have been put aside in favor of the continued benefits her condition brought to her family and village? Clearly the answer is no. She was already suffering the ill effects and would have continued to decline health wise. It would have been irresponsible of her parents not to take action. And perhaps their daughter’s job was done. For two years she brought joy and prosperity into their lives and the lives of others. A huge task for one so tiny. Maybe it was her turn. Maybe being “normal” was her reward.