Featured Image by Bobo Boom Under Creative Commons License

The following was written by a good friend of mine. I am cross-posting her articles here to ensure that they will always be on the internet and that her words will always have a way of reaching her intended audience. She has struggled immensely in her own life with family who failed to support her – who abused her instead of offering the love and care she provided them. Her alchemies run deep, and she has a perspective like no one else – a perspective I have decided to share with my audience. These articles date years back and through them you will see a firsthand snapshot of a remarkable woman’s growth.

-Eric

Are you weird?

I mean, we all have our own quirks. But sometimes you think you’re more peculiar than everyone else, right? You probably don’t want people to know about that one thing you like to do, for example. Yet, if someone did find out, you might realize it’s not that bad. People just don’t talk about it. (Depending on what that thing is, and assuming it doesn’t hurt anyone, of course.)

Don’t get me wrong, you’re probably really strange, in some way.

But you’re also probably not quite as weird as you think.

Do you know how many times I thought something was “weird,” but like everyone does it? (Or how many things I thought were common for people, but are apparently really odd?)

Let’s shine some light on honoring your weirdness, and why it matters.

Relatable People

People don’t like to be misfits, generally. Even when we do celebrate our uniqueness, there is likely some part that longs to relate to someone else.

Take it from an asexual Pisces (let’s say) esoteric exploring chic, who is blessedly cursed with a writer’s brain and multiple core parts. We probably can’t leave out our admiration for the darkness. You know, some of it, anyway.

The point is- I’m weird, ok? And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My authenticity is freaking magical!

(And also, admittedly, does not genuinely reside in the confides of labels. We’re way more than just those, too.)

Still, it is always nice when another person understands me, even if it’s just a little. Let’s be real here, I doubt anyone is capable of understanding all of me(s).

And I’m cool with that. It keeps life a little mysterious. Even better, I get to understand more of ourself. (Not a typo.)

It’s a human need to relate and empathize with others. Well, for many of us, anyway. That’s how we often grow, in fact. By sharing our personal aberration with someone else.

It’s even better to relate to our selves. (However you want to put that, I guess.) We’re willing to bet that getting to know you is a gift to the whole world. Especially if you’re getting to know yourself.

Everyone’s A Little Strange

I am a bit peculiar. So are you. Everyone is.

That’s what makes us… us. And you, you.

You wouldn’t be you without your uniqueness. It’s a gift. Share it. (But don’t harm others to do so.)

What if your weirdness is who you’re meant to be? It’s funny to think that people just spend their whole lives running from it, if you put it that way, right?

Can you imagine just throwing away your potential like that? And for what? Fear of judgment you’re gonna face no matter what? Humans are a special kind of creature, aren’t we?

Own Your Weirdness And Things Might Change

Nothing changes by staying the same, you know?

It’s the ones who dare to be a bit eccentric that change the world. “Normal” folk don’t have time for stuff like that. Plus, it’s super frowned-upon, usually, until you succeed.

Still, who knows what consequences are caused by doing something, or not.

What if honoring your weirdness brings about major change, for the better? What if the peculiarity you’re afraid of is the answer to everything you want? Or what if it just brings raw joy to your life, and it inspires someone else? That’s no small thing that should just be written off.

We do know one thing for sure. Honoring our weirdness is bliss. Honoring my selves is one of the most life-giving layers of being, as far as we can tell. That is to say, my authenticity brings me a zest I never knew before accepting my curious, usually unwelcome, traits.

In other words, you find a certain magic when you embrace how strange you are, in all its (loving) glory.

You learn who you are beyond theory and labels. You get to meet the version of you that is waiting to be discovered.

You’re Probably Not as Peculiar As You Think!

As I briefly mentioned, people think common experiences are strange because nobody talks about it.

The thing is life is freaking weird, in so many ways. Think about it. We’ll wait.

You are probably really odd, somehow. So is reality. And society is no better. It’s really, um, quite something, right?

My point is that everything will make you say “wtf” eventually. It’s seriously puzzling out there. (And curiously inexplicable inside, too.)

Let’s assume that the only way one can feel different is by comparison. It’s maybe not the best method, but it happens all the time.

With that in mind, it’s a bit -we don’t know- egocentric (perhaps) to somehow find non-harmful traits that out-strange anything in a place so peculiar as the physical world.

You’re the weird one? Really? Did you see that atom split, or that light retract? Have you ever considered how your brain really works when it creates a memory?

Everything is weird. Everyone is, too, if we’re being honest.

It only gets more mysterious from there. Sometimes. It depends on who you ask, I guess.

Besides, humanity is still stuck on the idea that being different somehow means that someone is inferior, demonic, and/or otherwise bad. We haven’t grown very much, have we? How is that notion still an active thing?

Once again, eccentricities make the world go round. Honoring your weirdness, in reality, means you have the ability to do something meaningful and exciting. Something new.

Those who are well-behaved follow the soul-denying definition of “normal.” The whole point is to maintain the status quo, no matter what those expectations might be. It’s not meant to promote change, but to demand loyalty to slightly cozier obedience. Arguably, only to have a bit more comfort on the surface, anyway.

Honor Your Weirdness

What if you’re uniquely you because “God” (whatever that means) wanted that for you?

What if your own Divinity lies in your willingness to honor your weirdness?

In our experience, that’s where life truly begins. Embracing your obscurity is deeply magical partially because it’s highly personal.

Your kookiness could very well be your power.

It’s probably worth a little look. Don’t you think? Just think of what you might find. Actually, maybe not. It’s usually best to avoid setting such standards. They have a tendency of being demolished.

What else are you going to do? Exist emptily until the resentment kills you?

We think we’d rather honor our weirdness. At least there’s love in my whimsicality.

Besides, we find the absence of some level of weirdness a bit uncanny and unsettling. Cuz that’s not really normal.