(4:407) Indeed, because of the dismal record of human behavior, the more we experience it, the less confidence we have that any will ever conforms to moral norms.
Pragmatically speaking, it's quixotic to hope that the myth system will ever conform to the operational code in every respect--and, I would argue, equally so to hope that legitimacy can be sustained when the two diverge as dramatically as they do now.
Don't ever conform to a label.
But real life doesn't always conform to fiction; Parsons called Lucy "that grandest, noblest, bravest of women," and a friend wrote that "probably no married life had ever been less clouded".
Tolstoy's later belief that life is too complex and disordered ever to conform to rules or philosophical systems perhaps derives from these futile attempts at self-regulation.
For a variety of reasons kids feel more pressure than ever to conform to unrealistic standards -- academically, socially and most especially regarding appearance.
The late Raymond Carver is the only other artist I have ever met who conformed so directly to my preconceived notion of him.
And it is true--an artist's creative process most often advances in many different ways without ever addressing or conforming to any particular formula or type, so the "surrealism of everyday life" makes perfect sense for your approach and thinking.
Added to this is the ever increasing pressure to conform to a norm of physical and mental health.
