When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name;—— the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Can you remember a moment in your life when you had life in yourself and it was wholly strange and new? Can you remember the moment when you stopped walking a path of someone else, and started cutting your own?
Write about that moment. And if you haven’t experienced it yet, let the miracle play out in your mind’s eye and write about that moment in your future.
(Author: Bridget Pilloud)
I attended a dinner party not too long ago with some incredibly interesting folks in attendance. Every single person at the table could be credited for doing something original and creative. One guy was pushing for a defined arts agenda within the U.S. government, someone else was a nonprofit ninja and another was an accomplished author. All of these folks were original and renegade thinkers who trailblazed a path to somehow make an impact.
It got me thinking about how the great thinkers and doers of the world are completely submerged within their own independent way of thought. Because of this, they’re considered to be rebels, even outsiders, to the rest of the world.
I felt some kind of validation in this discovery. Growing up, I always felt like an outsider, even an outcast. I always thought there was something wrong with me for not thinking or communicating the way those around me did. I often felt frustrated when I didn’t fit in.
On this night, I found myself feeling completely renewed, because I realized that this whole “being a misfit” thing is not a bad thing at all. In fact, it’s the opposite. I don’t need to fit in. I should stay exactly the way I am – perhaps become even more eccentric – in order to find my own path and do something new.
Because those who don’t fit in are more likely to subscribe to their own philosophy. And those folks are more open to the possibilities of doing something great.