A child is not born judging others, still, society’s pernicious labeling impacts a toddler’s life almost immediately. The child, guilty only of compliance, often reaches adulthood with a dualistic interpretation of the world, a simplistic understanding of all things dark or weird as bad.
Being characterized as “weird” doesn’t mean something is wrong with an individual, much less that there is anything “bad” about them. Being considered weird speaks more to the “normal” person’s focus than the alleged weird person’s. Being weird means that you do not choose to interpret and react to society’s assumptions in the same manner as the majority, and that’s all it means.
There is nothing wrong with being normal, just like there is nothing inherently right about being normal. Acting normally is nothing more than a measure of how much one buys into society’s approved version of reality.
It is naivete that brings a child joy; a sensation of carefree bliss, maintained through the absence of direction in how to be happy. If the child is lucky, as they mature their curiosity is nurtured to the wonders of the child’s shadow, allowing alchemic magic to enter an acolyte’s soul. This transcendent transformation is ethereal, invisible as it hides behind a veil of societal reason.
Don’t overthink life. Play hard daily, revel in failure, and try a touch of weirdness occasionally; you might find the change in perspective enlightening. Be kind in all do, not because anyone tells you to or in expectation of a quid pro quo, but from a deep-seated understanding that kindness and love are indeed the universe’s common currency.
Your shadow represents everything complicated that makes you, you. Make friends with your shadow—might as well, as you’re stuck with each other. And finally, make life your best friend, knowing that you are never alone.