Those who would become truly wise must become weird enough to be in touch with timeless things and abnormal enough to follow the guidance of the unseen. Elders are supposed to be weird, not simply ‘weirdos,’ but strange and unusual in meaningful ways…Elders are supposed to be more in touch with the otherworld, but not out of touch with the struggles in this world. Elders have one foot firmly in the ground of survival and another in the realm of great imagination. This double-minded stance serves to help the living community and even helps the species survive.”
– Michael Meade, “Fate and Destiny: The Two Agreements of the Soul”
So, yes, that explains why you’re getting weirder as you age! You’re playing cosmic limbo between here and the hereafter. You can see things the rest of the world can’t fathom. Isn’t it ironic that most futurists are in the last couple decades of their life? It takes digesting one’s past to see the future better.
John Lennon famously said, “It’s weird not to be weird.” I’ve also appreciated that refrigerator magnet that warned me, “If you’re not careful, you’ll turn out ordinary.” Change tends to happen on the edges.
Of course, our challenge is not to be weird for the sake of being weird; it’s about the freedom and power of being wired differently (which makes you that good kind of weird). A valuable elder is a conduit. Like an electrical adapter in a foreign country, the elder knows how to translate and transmute a current (or power source) so that it’s available to the rest of us.
So, let your freak flag fly, modern elder—let your wired wisdom become a hot channel for those attracted to your electrical charge.
We need your weird energy more than ever.