Quirks, what are they for?

Today I found myself constantly watching people’s behaviour. I get annoyed quickly by the repetitive nature of their quirks.

Is it weird to find weird things weird? Yea…good question.

Like the other day when we were having lunch, some people were talking with each other, like we people normally do. This guy had a plate with a fork and a knife on it and he was talking with someone next to him. Suddenly I notice he just starts rearranging his fork and knife on the plate, then he continues the conversation as if nothing ever happens.

Why did he do that? What’s it for? What use does it have to pick something up and place it down two inches further?

Quirks are strange. So many questions and possible answers come to mind when thinking this through. Although, come to think of it, why am I even trying to uncover the truth behind something that silly? I guess it’s human nature; the curiosity of it all.

Some people like tea. Half of them want the tea to soak for some time, the other half just want you to carefully dip it in the water. What’s with this difference? So many different kind of ways to make tea and I really don’t understand why people make a fuss about it.

Or that common quirk where someone has to stir a specific amount of time in their cup before they think it’s perfect to drink, or when someone has to peel the bread off their bread before eating it…what’s the use? Why do they do it?

People have such strange habits. Though looking at it and wondering about it does give you some insight into humans. We all have our own quirks so I guess it’s OK to be strange.

S.P. van der Lee

Curiousity for people

In my daily life I meet up with a lot of different people. Sometimes I meet them at work, sometimes at school, you even walk, bike or drive past them during a trip. We see people all around us.
Often I find myself looking at them, trying to figure out who they are, what they do. I am interested in knowing why they wear what they wear, why they do what they do. My mind wonders off to think what their life would be like.

You can tell a lot by just looking at the way they walk, if it’s insecure or sturdy. How they dress, if it looks trendy or Goth, sloppy or chic. Whether they frown or smile, you can tell if it’s fake or real. I think to myself: gosh, if only I knew what they thought.

It’s actually pretty normal to look at people and think about them. A lot of us do. It’s normal to want to compare yourself to the rest of the world. We are all curious, it’s in our nature. We are curious for everything we come across, we are a species that “wants to know things”. To be able to evolve, we need to know things, so it’s only natural.

 I know a lot of people think it’s important what other people think about them and we tend to want to adjust to that. A lot of us are insecure. But…don’t we all look at each other? Even if only for the reason I described above? Curiosity?

So everyone looks at other people and many of us feel judged. Why is that? Since we look at others too. It’s like saying “I don’t want you to look at me and judge me!” while you’re looking at and judging your neighbour.

From this you can draw the conclusion that judging and being judged is absolutely normal and not actually something to feel threatened by.
Do we actually look at someone and think: ‘You are dressed wrong! I will judge you and I never want to work with you/speak to you/anything else again.’ No, a lot of us don’t.
And honestly, those who do, don’t you think they are very narrow minded if they judge you based on how you dress or look? Do you even feel the need to be around these kind of people? I don’t.

The reality is: you can never please everyone. Like I said in my last post, we are all different people, we all like and dislike different things.
The important thing to remember is that you are unique, just like everyone else. When someone judges you, take it as their opinion, not something that is written in stone.

Only you know the real you and that’s all that matters, because it’s your life. You will live with you until the end, not the judger. So the only thing that really matters is what YOU think matters.

Love yourself x2!

S.P. van der Lee

What is Creativity?

I must say I've never written a blog before, but the idea has never slipped my mind ever since I started writing down peculiar things I come across in life. Why should we not share these strange things with each other? I believe creativity has its origins inside the open mind of the ones who see beyond what is common. And since creativity is the base on which everything in this world is made, I think you realise by now how important these Uncommon Questions can be...

“creative 1670s, "having the quality of creating," from create + -ive. Of literature, "imaginative," from 1816, first attested in Wordsworth. Creative writing is attested from 1907. Related: Creatively.”
Source: "creative." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 24 Jan. 2012.

As you can see from the source above, the word “creative” comes from the word “create”. So essentially creativity is there in everything we create. Makes sense right? So you can derive that we are all creative, in our own way. Now isn’t that a wonderful thing to keep in mind?

Creating something is often criticized, whether it is positive or negative. Sometimes you asked for it, sometimes you didn’t. Criticism however, is subject to opinion or rules based on opinions. What is beautiful? What is accepted? What is ugly and what is unacceptable? These are all opinions. It may be the opinion of a large mass, or that of a single individual.
But an opinion is an opinion. It’s one’s personal feeling about something. Personal. That is the word you should keep in mind, next time someone criticizes you. It is your choice to make what you make. It is your choice to have a personal different feeling than the one criticizing you.

All our opinions and feelings matter. You may decide if you do something with it or not. You may decide if you think its worth to change your creation into something the criticizer likes, or if you keep it the way you like. Both are equally important, both are equally worthy.

You see, an opinion about you or your creation has nothing to do with you, it’s about the criticizer. He feels this way. Not you. It’s his opinion, not yours. So you should never feel bad about yourself, because of what someone else thinks or feels.

Everyone in this world likes and hates different things. It’s normal to be different, we are all human. You can’t please everyone.

So don’t ever feel like you don’t have the right to feel, be or create differently.

Love yourself!


S.P. van der Lee