Normal is not something to aspire to, it's something to get away from. - Jody Foster
It is never too late to be who you might have been. - George Eliot
The word weird is derived from Old English. Originally spelled wyrd it was a concept in Anglo-Saxon culture roughly corresponding to our fate or personal destiny. In Beowulf, one of the oldest book in the English language, there is a reference to the hero being on his weird way or his destined path. The word weird further evolved over time to refer to that which is strange in a supernatural way.
In contemporary times the original definition and connotation of the word has been lost and we associate it with being odd or strange. Anyone who acts outside the limited parameters of socially acceptable behavior or the boundaries of what we think of as normal we call weird. As social creatures we want to feel that we belong so we often resist expressing our uniqueness since we don't want to be seen as weird or different.
People have been calling me weird since high school and I remember the first time I said "thank you" when they did. I must have realized even then that there was something good about being weird. The label came largely from the fact that I was being more creative, playful, imaginative and expressing more of my authentic self than we were being schooled to do.
Being creative shakes up the norm. It adds spice, color and joy to the world. I've come to feel that that is the job of the artist or those who express their creativity in any way. If each of us is going to bring these unique gifts to the world, we have to be willing to be a little weird. We need to accept and embrace the ways we are different even as we know we are part of the whole. We need to claim our own callings that come as the still small voice within us that may suggest a course of action that our mind and the people around us will think is weird but our spirit knows is the right thing to do.
What if it's our weirdness the world needs right now. What if you being you is the change you can be that will ripple out to transform the world in positive ways and bring more joy and satisfaction to your own life. What if a willingness to be seen as little weird is what is required to be on your destined path. What if weird could be the new normal