I have never been a conventional person. As a child, my best friend was a boy in my class, a kindred spirit if you will. We were far from what you would call the usual kids. In fact, we prided ourselves on this fact. One of our favorite things to call each other was “weird”. For us, being “weird” was cool and “normal” was boring. Having a fellow oddball made the complexity and awkwardness of the grade-school social experience bearable. The strange things in life seemed ok if I knew someone else was around who I could share that with in some small way.
Unfortunately, as with all things, we grew up and apart. Having that memory of camaraderie was enough to help get me through much of my childhood and helped to form new and wonderful friendships.
I now am married to a man that is truly my soulmate- an amazing, understanding human who appreciates my oddities. We respect our differences, value them in fact, knowing that all of these varying traits create balance – a sort of chaotic harmony. He is my partner in all the weirdness that I can dish out and I love him more than life for that.
The universe has reminded me of that small friendship throughout the years in ways that are, as my favorite podcaster Jim Harold says frequently, “too much coincidence to be coincidence.” In those moments, I have learned to take from those little reminders how the important having a kindred spirit is. Throughout my entire adult life, small things representative of that quirky part of my childhood will pop up in subtle but remarkable ways.
It wasn’t until much later in life that I examined the textbook meaning of the word “weird.” As defined by Merriam-Webster:
weird adjective
\ ˈwird
Definition of weird (Entry 1 of 2)
1: of strange or extraordinary character : ODD, FANTASTIC
2: of, relating to… the supernatural : MAGICAL
And from Google:
weird
/wird/
adjective
- suggesting something supernatural; uncanny.
Opposite: normal, ordinary
INFORMAL
very strange; bizarre.
"a weird coincidence"
Opposite: conventional
ARCHAIC
connected with fate.
noun
ARCHAIC•SCOTTISH
noun: weird; plural noun: weirds
- a person's destiny.
Take that, dull and boring “Normal”.
I implore that you take note of the seemingly little things from your past and present that have uncannily remained with you or have popped up in your life in a manner suggesting it was more than coincidence. Examine those things more closely. Ask yourself, “what is it about this experience or memory that makes it stand out and be of value in my life.” “Why is it presenting itself at this moment?” Or perhaps, “why does this one thing choose to shine, even if just a little, more than the rest?” Then, use that innermost sense to listen for the answer. Sometimes the answers are not what you would expect.
“Blessed are the weird people:
poets, misfits, writers
mystics, painters, troubadours
for they teach us to see the world through different eyes.”
-Jacob Nordby