“One of these things is not like the other,” they used to sing on Sesame Street, “one of these things just doesn’t belong.” The game was to guess what item didn’t fit as part of a set. But they sing the song differently now. The good folks of Sesame Street have figured out that being different from those around you doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t belong.
Is there anywhere in your life where you are obviously different from others in your “set,” yet you still feel that you belong?
Many times, what we experience in life is less a sense of belonging than a sense of “be-longing.” We long for that one person, that true home, that genuine community, where we will be completely known, completely accepted, completely at one with those around us. But once we leave the womb there is no way to escape the longing for perfect union, which we can experience only in fleeting moments before the reality of living as an individual amongst other individuals, each with our own needs and perspectives, takes over.
When have you experienced a sense of perfect communion?
One bad apple might spoil the bunch, but an apple of a different color never hurt anybody. Belonging to a group is not the same as being indistinguishable from those you associate with.
How will you support non-conformity today?
Ripples keep moving out indefinitely until something stops them. Whether the ripples are created by water falling in a pool or by the sound waves produced by a violin, every wave continues until its path is blocked. When you put something out in the world, you never can know how far it might go.
What waves will you make today? How will you get out of the way so that someone else’s ripple can move forward?
When the tire is no longer useful for a car, it is still good for a swing. But when summer ends, or children grow up, what is the swing good for? Sometimes the answer comes with patience, sometimes with determination, sometimes with burst of creativity that makes everything new.
How do you hold on to your sense of purpose in life during the times when you feel adrift?
