Have You Ever Been An Exception

Have you ever been an Exception??

Before I get into the topic I thought let me search for the word Exception in the dictionary. Here is how it has been explained on dictionary.com

1. The act of excepting or the fact of being excepted.
2. Something excepted; an instance or case not conforming to the general rule.
3. An adverse criticism, esp. on a particular point; opposition of opinion; objection; demurral: a statement liable to exception.
4. In Law. a. An objection, as to a ruling of the court in the course of a trial. b. A notation that an objection is preserved for purposes of appeal: saving an exception1.

We all live in societies where there are set best practices and rules. Every time there is been a deviation from the norms there has been an imbalance and a lot of turbulence during that time. From Galileo to Gandhi exception have always made life for the people living by the rules very difficult. While they were greats with unimaginable determination and believe in what they said and did, there are many such small instances in our life when even a small exception is treated with utmost severity. To highlight my thought let me take some examples.

If you are from a society where everyone in the neighbor hood is a Vegetarian and you are the only one who is a non-Vegetarian you owe a lot of explanation or hiding or face moral guilt forced on you by people who dont eat. There is very little acceptance though on the face of it we show that its ok its his choice the very fact that one has to explain his act shows how intolerable we are to an exception. In any and every exception one has to be prepared for a set of explanations if he wishes to continue living with the same set of people. There are always choices.

It is so easy to live without anyone challenging your decision, rules and belief but when someone challenges that very decision and belief you feel weak and helpless. Here by "your" I mean society. How does the society deal with that it bitches about the exception, punishes it and even emotionally drains the person responsible for it. Well you might say nothing is fair and people are not run by logic but by rules, rules of the society. After all it is this very society that keeps things together and going whenever there has been storm. There is tremendous amount of energy behind the force and if you have to be an exception you really have to be very sure and strong to face it. It will not be easy, society before you or you before the society.

Have you ever been an exception??

It would be very enriching and nice to learn even about the smallest exception that you have made whether it was for your own selfish needs or whether it was as great as being a Gandhi. How does one deal with breaking away and setting an example or taking a risk....