One of my favorite episodes of This American Life is about tribes and belonging.
First, because it solved the mystery of why I like the sound of pencil on paper and whispered African accents.
Second, it framed a concept I’d been trying to put my finger on — the idea of belonging, having kindred spirits; a tribe.
In the Mermaid Writer’s Group one year, I sensed a convening, a gathering of a tribe that I’ve always been a member of.
To make sure I was on the right track, I asked the group if any of them had the term “unique” used to describe them when they were kids.
All the hands went up.
One participant recalled that her yearbook was full of you’re so unique, written in every way possible.
Me too.
You too?
No surprise, if you’re reading this.
But I wanna get to the root of this whole “unique” thing.
Is that really the most accurate term, “unique”?
Because “unique” suggests one-of-a-kind.
But I’m pretty sure there are tons of our kind.
And what kind is that?
Weirdos.
You know, misfits, renegades, black sheep, and the ones who march to the beat of their own drum.
And weirdo are a tribe, marchin’ around to lots of beats and lots of drums.
And we have a patron saint, too.
A patron saint for weirdos?
Yep.
She’s the ambassador, the protector, and the champion of this really important facet of your personality.
It’s the facet that doesn’t give a f*ck about status quo, “the right way”, or what everybody else is doing. It doesn’t conform; it’s a wild innocence, a holy ferality.
This facet is wholly you without any editing, posturing, or pretending.
This facet has a patron saint because it’s that important, and it deserves someone to stick up for it.
Wanna meet her?
Allow me to introduce The Mermaid archetype.
She greets us in late September at Autumn Equinox, when the year shifts from Light to Dark.
As the Light wanes, she says “follow me” with a flick of her fin and her eye on the dark of the year.
A lot of folks want to celebrate her in the sunny summertime, assuming that she’s a sexy beach babe with a cute bikini top, all turquiose-and-pink, tits and hair.
Nope.
She’s way weirder than that.
Cast of courage, she names herself, defines beauty for herself, and does what she wants no matter what anyone thinks.
So the next time somebody says you’re weird, consider claiming it proudly.
Because it doesn’t mean you’re an outcast– shunned and alone.
It’s the opposite.
It means you are part of a tribe, kindred among other wild, unedited beings who are true to their ways; a whole army of weirdos with The Mermaid archetype as the patron saint.
So, dig that freak flag outta the closet and hoist it right up the flagpole.
Be proud of your strange ways.
“Strange Ways, Here We Come” (Remember? Best album ever says 13 year-old KV).
There’s a right way and a wrong way.
But it’s the strange way I generally go.
And so do most weirdos.
I was watching a RuPaul interview (on Finding your Roots) and he talked about his early years, the courage it took to follow his own strange way.
The host of the show named RuPaul’s efforts as a civic contribution.
A civic contribution.
You already know “the world needs your work”.
But more to the point, the world needs the wisdom of your weirdo.
I mean, imagine if I had stayed in the box and ignored my strange ways.
You would have never read a word of my writing, never heard of this pedagogy of archetypes, never smelled a single one of these oils.
My divine weirdo has made a civic contribution.
And I bet yours has, too.
Thank goodness!
So, yeah, you’re weird.
We need you to be.
The world needs your work.
And the world needs your weird.
Long live The Mermaid!
love and weirdos,
xo
kv
