recently been chatting with friends about those that feel the need to let everyone know how "different" they are, and how much they like you because they think you are "cool." let it be known: i am not cool, i have never been cool, i do not want to be cool. the same people who think you are this wonderful thing are the same people who are striving intensely to be "different." many times to the detriment of their own identity.
this makes me sick. here is why:
i hold the firm belief that *everyone* is different/unique. simple right? no! so many people think they are alone in the world being unique. i always want to ask: "what makes you so special?" but instead i *should* ask: "what makes you the only one who is special?" where do we get this notion that everyone (but me and my few closest friends--of course) is walking in lock step?
i embrace the fact that i am unique. it is the biggest banner i wave. frankly though, sometime this uniqueness is pretty mundane: i like hot dogs, the color green, getting birthday cards in the mail, and driving my honda civic. there are millions of other people in the world that like and do these same things! but herein lies my uniqueness: there are *not* millions of other people who like these things in this exact same sequence, combination and level of intensity. i like the smell of dirt--ok, no i love the smell of dirt--ok, no again, i love things that smell and taste like dirt. yes, i know this is strange, but this is not just something i think i kind of like, this is bound up in the woof and weave of my very soul! it is something that defines me. it is my God given gift. yes, i really do see it this way!
i am stunned every day at the menagerie of souls i encounter. each individually created by a God who revels in uniqueness--a God that created this beautiful universe full of things as different as my armpit and a black hot star (if those things aren't unique i don't know what is!). the beauty of my armpit (i wanted to say that:) is that it's just being an armpit. it's not trying to be the sun (and for this i am grateful). this is a weird analogy i know, but bear with me here. the people i admire most are not those people that think i'm "cool." the ones who are putting all their energy into being "different." i admire those that are going about being armpits--they're genuine. they are putting all their passion into being just what they are. they aren't fretting about the search for themselves--they may be on the scavenger hunt (like so many are), but they're taking it one moment's experience at a time. they're being unique without trying...
this is the most unusual thing you can do.
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