...a fellow grad student, during an exercise called "Compliment Bombardment" last semester, labeled me "odd." (Seriously...he stuck a label on my compliment sheet that contained only that one word.) I've been mulling it over ever since, tumbling it around like a roughened rock hoping to end up with a shiny chunk of knowledge...inner awareness. How does the outside world see me? Odd?
Now I'd prefer unique or even quirky, but that wasn't the label I was branded with. Did he mean "odd" as in "oddball?" The online etymology dictionary (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=odd) gave me a tad bit of insight. The word "odd" has been around awhile, since 1300, apparently. Here's a tidbit of what it had to say:
Sense of "strange, peculiar" first attested 1588 from notion of "odd one out, unpaired one of three"; oddball "eccentric or unconventional person" first attested 1948. Odd job (c.1770) is so called from notion of "not regular." The international order of Odd Fellows began as local social clubs in England, late 18c., with Masonic-type trappings; formally organized 1813 in Manchester.
Hmmmmhmmmmmmm...so...I can somewhat embrace eccentric or unconventional, but I really like the idea of being "not regular." Regular is not so appealing to me. Especially when I look around and see what "regular" has become. I do not want to be a slave to money and consumerism. I've been there for 32 years and I'm finally learning that there is no amount of stuff that will bring me happiness. Is it odd to be interested in homesteading? The real ideas behind homesteading are based on self-sufficiency, right? Odd? In this day when "green living" and "ecofriendliness" are trendy and high-fashion...even Hollywood has bought in!
Yes, I enjoy growing my own food, the spring smell of damp dirt is heaven! I love to knit and to see my family find the things I've made my hand useful and comforting. I've just found that I love to see rows of Mason jars lined up on the shelf filled with the food that I processed for my family. I love to hear my daughter say my Plum jam is the "bestest ever." I guess...it's empowering to be more self-sufficient.
I may never be a true homesteader...but I'm going to keep reading, keep learning, keep mastering new skills, and keep moving toward more self-sufficient living. If all of that is odd...sign me up! Who wants to be "regular" anyway?
Examining the issue from another light...I am a Christian...a believer in the beautiful truth that Jesus died on the cross to pay a debt for me. In a Biblical sense, I am an "alien" here on Earth. I am not "of" the Earth, but of Heaven. I strive to be "odd" because I do not want to fit in to the Earth's standards. Odd? Yup! Indeed!
2 comments:
Regular is a good thing, when it comes to certain body functions.
However, odd it great when it an attempt to be more self sufficient. I used to love to grow a vegetable garden every year. We have moved to an area where the soil is not condusive to such activities. So, unless I am willing to construct something akin to raised beds, my gardening days are behind me. I do miss them.
I would rather be odd than ignorant which come to my mind regarding that person.
You bring back memories: the best jelly in the world was my mom's wild plum jelly. As a child, I would ask her if she would make some if I went out and gathered them. I am 71 years old now, and would love to taste that jelly again.
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