Embracing Uniqueness and Why Differences Matter
No one is really the same. Each of us has our differences indeed and as ourselves, each of us over time, will also change, evolve and transform. As you sit now – maybe in a public place, or next to your loved ones at home, maybe you are online chatting to a friend, or simply thinking of someone you know. If you actually think about it, it can be hard to believe that every one of those people around you experiences a very different world to the one that you do.
The Unique Experience of the Individual
Each of us has our own unique perspective on whatever it is that’s going on. Even when we share the same situation, in the same room, with the same people, our own experience of it will rarely be the same as theirs. What I have learned working with people is that each of us experiences things, as if they are the same, but from our very own point of view. We experience our own unique way of living through things and being who we are in that time and process. Letting the world in, means that everything comes in through our own eyes, we take it all in through our own filters, interpretations and world views and we each have our own way of being and experiencing, simply through being who we are, which is indeed different from everybody else.
The way we behave in the world out there is also a reflection of our uniqueness. We interact with others and our environment in our own unique fashion, though in the usual shared circumstances of daily life. But our behaviour is unique to us and so there is also uniqueness in our self-expression. This is what attracts people to us – the small differences they notice about how we interact with the world. There is a lot to gain from such richness of experience and expression. We can learn from the differences in inputs and outputs between ourselves and others if we choose to – and we can make it into something to enjoy rather than to suffer from.
The Uniqueness in the Body
I had never been so aware of just how different people are, until I began working with people on an individual basis in one-on-one sessions. It was here that this simple truth was revealed to me, through working with the body. Bodies are incredibly unique – from the feelings experienced, to how they respond, through how much they can take, to their specific needs and sensitivities. I am still often surprised by how much ‘another’ person is truly an ‘other’ person.
It might be the case for many that they fear we live in different ‘worlds’, which to an extent is true. However, there might also be the excitement of experiencing through our interactions a bit of that feeling, something less familiar, yet intriguing – the shared experience of difference. It does take time and attention to recognise, to embrace and even to celebrate, just how magnificently we truly are as unique beings. It is in the acceptance that there is nothing wrong with how different we are, where the most interesting aspects of life are revealed to us.