I’m Weird

I’ve always been weird.

As a kid, I spoke to the trees, rivers, and rocks. Often, they spoke back and told stories. (Still do).

In high school, I dyed my hair blue, sported a mohawk, and wore secondhand clothes. Sometimes, I wore brooches and makeup (hey! It was the 80s). Some of the kids called me queer — another name for weird.

In my first college, when I critiqued American politics or culture, some of the students called me freak (another name for weird) and told me, “If you don’t like it, leave.” I’m not going to lie, that hurt.

When I worked on Wall Street, they called me “creative” (yet another name for weird) and told me — in so many words — you don’t fit in.

Even when couched in love, being told I did not fit in hurt. Perhaps that is why I showed up as different versions of myself for different people — because I wanted to be normal, just fucking normal for once. It was a poor strategy because I wasn’t normal, no matter how hard I tried.

Somewhere along the line, I started to appreciate that I didn’t fit in. I began to see the gifts of being weird and started to lean into them.

When doctors told me that going into Nature was weird (and wouldn’t work), and therapists told me that plant medicines were weird (and wouldn’t work), I did it anyway. And you know what? I’m alive today because I did.

I am weird.

I don’t fit in.

I don’t want to fit in.

Normal is frightening.

“Normal” is working 40.5 hours a week at a job you hate for people you don’t trust and maybe even don’t really like. Normal is coming home to a spouse you no longer love, who you will likely divorce, with kids who you do not know and who don’t want to know you.

Normal is sitting on the couch, watching 3.5 hours of TV that programs your mind, while you save for a retirement you might never not even see because your 2.5 chronic health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, obesity or hypertension threaten your lifespan.

Normal is numbing yourself with drugs, alcohol, shopping, work, the gym, doom scrolling, likes, followers or fans, and maybe escaping to a “Great Destination” on the weekends or once or twice a year … and making sure to post all about it.

Normal is living in a way that conforms to the expectations of a society that values productivity over well-being, consumption over connection, and conformity over individuality.

As Krishnamurti says so beautifully, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”

I choose weird.

Weird comes from the Old English word “wyrd,” which originally referred to fate or destiny — forces understood to be under the influence of the divine. In Old Norse the word “urðr” referred to one of the Norns — mystical beings who wove the fates of gods and people.

To be weird was to be intimately connected to the fabric of the universe, to the unseen forces that guided the cosmos and the lives within it.

To be weird was not just to be different; it was to be in touch with — and to be able to bend — these forces, and to have a sense of destiny that transcended the mundane.

Weird was about embracing the mystery and the power of the unknown, recognizing that life is not a straight line but a web of possibilities, woven by forces greater than ourselves. That’s the original meaning of weird.

Over time, as society moved away from these ancient understandings, “weird” became a term used to describe anything that didn’t conform to societal norms — anything different, unexpected, or difficult to understand. It became a label used to dismiss what didn’t fit neatly into the boxes society created.

Jesus was weird. So was Buddha — he gave away all his wealth and sat under a tree in search of enlightenment for all beings. Einstein was weird. Tesla, Joan of Arc, Helen Keller, Steve Jobs, Prince — each of them saw the world differently and changed it because of their unique perspectives.

Every great artist, musician, and innovator you can think of — David Bowie, Robert Rauschenberg, Janis Joplin, Picasso, Madonna, Björk (!), Nina Hagen, Jim Belushi, Walt Disney — was weird. Their weirdness was their superpower, the very thing that set them apart and allowed them to leave an indelible mark on the world.

So, if being weird means seeing the world in ways others don’t, questioning what others take for granted, and daring to be different in a world that demands conformity, then I embrace it fully. Because it’s the weird ones who push the boundaries, who challenge the status quo, who create, innovate, and inspire.

To all the weirdos out there — embrace your weird.

It’s not just okay to be weird; it’s necessary. The world needs people who aren’t afraid to be different, who aren’t afraid to think outside the box, and who aren’t afraid to walk a path that others might not understand.

Weird isn’t just a label.

It’s a badge of honor.

It’s a testament to living authentically, to staying true to who you are, no matter how different that may be. So yeah, I’m weird. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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My name is Leif Meneke. I am weird.

I’m building a business that guides leaders to come into greater alignment with Nature, the greatest of all healers and teachers.

If you’re weird too, follow me for more insights.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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