The Undervaluation of Eccentricity

Praise abounds regarding the value of diversity, at least outside primitive enclaves such as Iraq and Myanmar where religious opposition becomes sanctified. In our own country, Republicans would be challenged to come up with more original disasters a la George W. Bush were it not for the Democratic targets that foster sophomoric bashing as a diversified countermeasure. Beyond political sparing, we honor diversity for many reasons, not the least of which is the entertainment value in things so extraordinaire.

What then of eccentricity? Is this unique, sometimes foreign perspective not also worthy of societal laud? “And now, for something completely different!” Differences in perspective are the spores of humor and entertainment, not to mention innovation and artistic creation. Even when the eccentric view is slightly askew, the mere stretching of conventional thought serves to stimulate new ideas and approaches, leading to more unusual and applicable break-throughs to new experience, unexpected and unforeseen.

We may find it more difficult to perceive the teaching opportunity of those wandering the streets aimlessly while talking to themselves – without cell phone earpieces (an important distinction!). Yet their behavior may lend inspiration to street philosophers, including programmers perfecting their RNGs – random number generators.  We cannot forget the odd mutation; for it is not the normal, well behaved gene that is responsible for our great leaps of evolution.

On a higher level, it is the unabashed eccentric who stops to behold the wonders we often overlook: the color and shape of a single flower; the casting of sunlight around five towering highrises; the laughing joy of a young child revolving dizzily around a street pole – she having not yet surrendered to the pressures of normalcy.

One step up and we have the highly educated man, or perhaps enlightened Sufi, who conjures scenarios that bring SciFi down to present day Earth. Utilizing a way of thinking beyond the borders of conventional professionalism, the experienced eccentric pushes beyond the bounds of normalcy. Why stop short when you can push into a new galaxy? Forget “outside of the box;” let’s start in another dimension. Don’t fight over limited square footage; go vertical and add another level to double the area. Why consider yourself locked into the present; the factor of time will multiply the outcome by ten. When you’re done maximizing the scenario, welcome the eccentric with the solution that goes from incremental improvement to the exponential upside.

Yes, this person seems weird, odd, beyond unusual. And yes, this person can show us things beyond our vision, range past the farthest reaches, make us jump to a new level of perception – like electrons going into a higher orbit.

Don’t resist these influences; leverage them! Put fear of strangeness aside, and absorb what you can. See if his tack, his directional vector, might lead you to your own new frontier. It’s free, it’s open, it’s a launchpad into the uncharted.

All that is required is the abandonment of fear of the unfamiliar, and the willingness to be open to the wonderful uniqueness of the unusual. With enough self-confidence, you can do this. Behold the eccentric, absorb what he sees, use your own consciousness, and … blink!

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