No.
You should go there, it's not far, for that is where you will find my second example. In the cathedral in Florence, there's a beautiful clock designed by Paolo Uccello in 1443. Now the curious thing about this clock is that, although it keeps time like all other clocks, its hands go in the opposite direction to that of normal clocks.
What’s that got to do with my illness?
I'm just coming to that. When he made this clock, Paolo Ucello was not trying to be original: the fact is that, at the time, there were clocks like his as well as others with hands that went in the direction we're familiar with now. For some unknown reason, perhaps because the Duke had a clock with hands that went in the direction we now think as the 'right' direction, that became the only direction, and Uccello's clock then seemed as an aberration, a madness.
Now lets turn to your illness: each human being is unique, each with their own qualities, instincts, forms of pleasure and desire for adventure. However, society always imposes on us a collective way of behaving, and people never stop to wonder why they should behave like that. They just accept it. Have you ever met anyone in your entire life who asked why the hands of a clock should go in one particular direction and not the other?
No.
If someone were to ask, the response they got would probably be: "you're mad." If they persisted, people would try to come up with a reason, but they'd soon change the subject, because there isn’t a reason apart from the one I've just given you. So to go back to your question. What was it again?
Am I cured?
No. You're someone who is different, but who wants to be the same as everyone else. And that in my view, is a serious illness.
Paulo Coelho - Veronika Decides to Die
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