We’ve got a 2’fer ferya today!
That is, I’ve got not just one, but two (count’em, TWO!) mini pod episodes to share.
Cause I had some weird thoughts. Wait, let me try that again.
I had some thoughts about weirdness.
And I wanted to share them with you.
Cause I like to talk.
You know that by now.
I’ll even print the transcript here, if you’re the “let me see what you say” type.
But just in case you like the sound of a Misfit talking to you while you fold laundry or drive wherever you’re driving… I’ve got you covered both ways!
Here’s Part 1
And here’s Part 2 🤓
TRANSCRIPT, Part 1
Hello, my Misfit friends. Coming at you today with a few of my own thoughts. You know, often we have some fabulous, fascinating Misfit out there who’s got some fascinating insights and stories to share, and I love those interviews.
But today, I wanted to share some of my own thoughts. And today, I’m thinking about being weird, right? We talk a lot about that.
Own your awkward, after all. That’s the number one core value, followed by loving your fellow Misfit, and seeking beauty and truth everywhere. So we’re going to touch on a few of those, starting with own your awkward, right?
Because the whole idea of awkwardness is, let’s face it, we’re all a little strange. You, me, I know, I know. Oh, that screwball over there?
Yeah, the girl with the hair, all of us. Oh, yeah, we are weirdos. All right, the whole lot of us.”
“That’s the bad news, that’s the good news, but let’s just get it out there. And now that we’ve gotten that out there and out of the way and established the fact of our collective oddball status, it actually might be helpful to define what we’re talking about. That is, what exactly do I mean when I say weird?
And what do you mean when you say weird? Because after all, I mean, one man’s conventionality is another man’s freak show. You say tomato, I say potato.
You see what I mean? You see where I’m going with this? Yeah, I can get really confusing.
So yeah, let’s start there. What makes something or someone weird? What or who sets the standard of weirdness or normality, really?”
“Well, I can tell you the answer. It’s me, of course, me, right? The paragon of popular thought, the standard bearer of all things, well, standard.
And it stands to reason that if I am the centrality, the locus, if you will, of what defines normal, then it’s only natural that whatever or whoever does not align with my reasoning of what is reasonable, then it shall not pass. They shall not pass. They shall be cast out of my enlightened world, and henceforth and forevermore be classified as, you know, you know what I’m going to say, as weird, right?
You heard me. Because that’s how it is, right? I’m the one that defines it.
I’m the one. It’s my definition, my world. If you don’t line up, you’re not normal.
Normal is what I’m used to. So, as you can see, this system works extremely well for me. For you, yeah, not so much.
But hey, sorry, someone’s got to be the one to call the shots. Oh, you think it should be you? Do you now?
Hmm. I thought that might be the case. So you’re telling me you have your own standard for what’s normal?
And you think I’m the weird one? Oh, do you now? Well, I guess I could see where this could be a problem.
But, but, all right, hear me out, hear me out. Maybe we could solve it. I have a perfect idea.
We’re going to solve this problem. You can have your weird, I’m going to have my weird, and we’re going to stay on her own little custom-made misfit islands. You know, kind of like a misfit archipelago.
Ooh, someone should write a book about that. You stay on yours, I stay on mine, and it’ll be fine, just fine. Because you know what?
Isolation is the key, right? We want to stay with like-minded misfits. Don’t want to venture out there, right?
I am a rock.
Okay, I guess that could be a problem. We’re not meant to be isolated. I get it, I get it.
But okay, all right, wait, wait, wait. We won’t really be isolated, because like I said, we can surround ourselves with people who think just like us. Won’t that be great?
A commune of like-minded misfits. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, wait. And we can we can congratulate ourselves all day for how unique we are, and how weird the rest of the world is, right?
Not weird like us. Oh, no, no, no. We’re the good weirdos.
And of course, we love the weirdos, after all, it’s what we’re built on. But as long as they subscribe to our brand of weirdness, and never repeat, never venture out to the other Isles, because there’s some crazy stuff going on there. What would happen, right?
If we associated with those other freaks? What if we found out? I don’t want to scare you, but what if we found out that we could disagree with them, but not hate them?
I know, this is, this is crazy talk on my part, right? Even worse, what if we found out we even like them, and they’re not, nothing like us, like they are truly, truly weird. And the worst thing of all, is what if we found out we could even learn something from them, that they have something that, that maybe we need.
This just would never, ever do, right? Nah, no, it would just make our heads explode. It’s too much work.
It’s much better, much better to stay in our enlightened little enclave, than to venture out into that world of wild and reckless weirdos who just ruin everything. Yep, that is the answer. That has to be the answer, because after all, weirdo is in the eye of the beholder.
And I don’t know about you, but I feel like, you know, my eyes have seen everything that they want to see. And here’s the thing. As long as we can keep from facing the fact that maybe there’s a standard beyond all of us by which we all fall short, by which none of us can measure up, then we can just keep on telling ourselves that we are the normal one.
I’m the normal one. You are the normal one, as long as you and I don’t clash, right? And then we never need to be challenged.
We never have to grow. Well, that seems like a good and reasonable plan, doesn’t it? Let me know how that works out for you, and you can be sure I’ll do the same.”
TRANSCRIPT, Part 2
Hello My Misfit Friends, my name is Nancy, your humble host and chief Misfit, just in case you’re new around here… and I’m so glad you stopped by!
Because I’ve got a few more thoughts I wanted to share with you… about weirdness.
Previously on the Isle of Misfits, I shared a few thoughts. If you haven’t listened, I encourage you to check that out, it’s only about 8-ish minutes. So you can pause this, go back & listen to that one first for context… or listen here and then go back, like a prequel You do you. But either way, like I said, there’s so much to say about weirdness… so let’s just jump right in!
So last time we established that “weird” is kind of in the eye of the beholder. And it’s true. Like I said, you do you (hey that rhymes!). But are there parameters around weirdness (as opposed to weird paramaters) that would be helpful to discuss?
I say yes!
First, let’s talk about the paramaters, and what I mean by that. Certainly there is no end to what could be considered as weird. Words like wacky… unique… offbeat… peculariar… even downright strange come to mind. All cool so far. But then we start to go deeper down the weird wabbit hole, and words like freaky, creepy, grotesque, ghastly, even PERVERSE start popping up (go ahead, look up your thesaurus, they’re ALL there!)
How did we get there so quick?
And where do we draw the line?
Do we draw a line?
Again, I say yes. I mean, I can’t draw it for you, but since I am the CMO around here, guess I’m calling the shots.
And I do think it’s important to constructive weird from destructive weird, and to spend most of our time celebrating the constructive.
What do I mean by THAT?
Well, it’s pretty simple, really. Like I said in the previous episode, let’s face it, we’re all weird. All of us. And a lot of our weirdness is wiredness. That is, from God. He wired you, you in the car (eyes on the road now!) and even me the way He did on purpose. For a purpose. You are unique. You have talents, abilities, a personality that cannot be duplicated. Hooray for that! To some that makes you weird. Because you’re not like them.
And they can’t handle it. Maybe because they can’t handle their own weirdness… but that’s yet another podcast for another day.
So yeah, you’ve got some good weird going on!
You, me, and yes even you in the car (don’t spill your coffee!) also got not so good weird that we need to address… You know, that second list. We can’t celebrate that stuff. How could we? It’s not serving you well. It’s not serving others well.
That might sound obvious… but if I’ve learned anything as they world has gotten weirder and weirder… I’ve learned not to assume anything!
So I guess the next question is, how do you know when your weirdness has crossed the line from awe-inspiring to awful?
Well, here’s a very reliable and highly scientific litmus test:
Ask yourself: Is this aspect of me… this thing I’m thinking… saying… doing… where is it leading? If I keep thinking/saying/engaging in it, is it bringing me up? Or down?
How about the people around me?
The book of Philippians actually helps us out a lot here:
Is it true? Is it noble? Is it right? Is it pure? Lovely? Admirable? Excellent? Praiseworthy?
(It’s chapter 4, verse 8, btw – look it up!)
That’s how you’ll know! Cause if it’s not… that’s the weirdness we want to bring to Jesus, to work out of us, and bring out the extraordinary, vintage weirdo He wired you to be!
That, by the way, is part of what owning your awkward is all about. Own who you are. And the process of who God made you to be.
So yeah. That’s it. For today.
But I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Shoot me an email at nancy@isleofmisfits.com
Or find me on Instagram at the original misfit.
But whatever you do, keep owning your beautiful awkward, keep loving your fellow misfit, and keep pursuing beauty and truth… cause it’s everywhere, if you look for it!
Isle of misfits 