I’m American, and first heard this phrase at an event sponsored by the Dutch consulate general at SF MoMA maybe 20 years ago. I heard the version, makt das normal (Sorry if I didn’t conjugate ‘make’ properly).

It was described to me as the go-to or default when you don’t know what to do. Translates to ‘do normal’. (Like Young MC’s ‘Bust a move’, haha).

That seemed like good advice from a country with permissive drug policies. When things get crazy, do normal. I think of this when I see youth with full face piercings or whole body tattoos working normal retail jobs. Like they went crazy, and then did normal. Of course that’s just my imagination, but life is like that sometimes (whether you wear the scars on the inside or on the outside).

When I look up the phrase today, web results show the imperative, ‘be normal’.

I have edited my comment, sorry about that.