A friend recently introduced me as ‘an outlier’. I rather like the designation.
My friend’s work involves organising and analysing large sets of data. In that arena, the term ‘outlier’ is used to refer to a datum that sits far from the main cluster of data – perhaps a point that doesn’t fit within an expected distribution. Often times, such outliers are merely disregarded, excluded from the analysis. When time permits, though, a curious soul will always want to know what is going on; what makes this outlier different to the rest?
It strikes me that this is one of the obstacles to spiritual liberation: One must be prepared to be an outlier. Most people, most of the time, are conforming. So much of our behaviour is dictated by societal norms, by what we believe others expect of us. To be free is to be oneself, whatever that might be in the moment, without any need to conform. However, this takes a tremendous courage, the courage to be alone, the courage to be an outlier.
And if one does manage to be oneself, we shouldn’t expect that others will be happy about it. Most will shun us, out of fear and suspicion, much as that lone datum is so often excluded from the analysis. Only a few curious souls will be drawn to us. Only a few will ask: what makes this outlier different to the rest?
But perhaps my friend called me an outlier merely because I so often sleep outside!
