I’m not a conventional adult.

I know this because I have tried convention on for size and it looked awful on me.

I was pale and ungainly and tripping all over the place.

Conventional living fits me like a pair of pants that are one size too small. Sure, I could probably pull them off at a push but the zipper would always be sticking out funny and I’d always be self-consciously pulling at the waistband.

I’m not interested in working a 60-hour week or progressing through a successful career that I don’t enjoy, but I do for the sake of taking home a pay check at the end of the week.

I’m not motivated by collecting wealth or material possessions (even though I do like pretty things), nor do I have any desire to live in the suburbs, comparing my life and my children with the neighbors.

In all honesty, the thought of jumping into a mortgage for the next 30 years freaks me the f*ck out and I’m not even sure I want to get married.

Perhaps one day all of that will change.

To be honest, I really hope it doesn’t.

I certainly don’t ever want to take myself seriously, lose my sense of humor or make decisions in my life that are based around ease and safety.

I want to follow the pull of my heart, wherever it takes me and live from the absolute truth of what it speaks.

I want freedom and flexibility and magic.

I want to do everything with passion, integrity, purpose and to contribute in some meaningful way to the growth of humanity.

I want to experience the abstract and spontaneous—teach my children through my actions that we actually do get to forge your own path. We don’t have to follow the crowd or do things the way that they’re supposed to be done, just because that’s how they’ve always been done.

Too many people are just plodding along with their eyes closed, doing the things that they think they should be doing without actually checking in to see if it’s actually what they really want.

I know. I was one of them.

I nearly chose convention.

It felt safe and comfortable and in many ways, much easier.

Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on which way we look at it) my body decided to show me how unhappy it was with my decision to play it safe in a normal life.

It drained me of energy, took on every virus and infection it could possibly allow, at any given time and even developed an unidentifiable rash from head to toe. It practically became a red flashing light, warning me of the perils of ignoring what it was attempting to tell me.

I understand how difficult it is to step outside the norm—to make choices which clearly identify us as different, to live a life that invites judgement and misunderstanding and isolation from those who are less accepting of different ways of approaching the world.

But when I finally recognized how uncomfortable I was accepting a life that was not aligned with my heart, I began to feel alive again. Not to mention energized and rash-free!

So, I’m calling out to the misfits, the dreamers, the believers who are squashing themselves into conventionality because they’re afraid to shine their light brighter.

Listen to that voice that’s telling you it’s possible to do it another way!

The world needs us more than ever to step forward and choose to live our lives to the beat of our own drums.

To decide that we’re not happy with the status quo and make up our own rules.

To question the manner in which things are done and shake up the system.

That’s what us unconventional types are here for.

To instigate change; to show people that there are so many different possibilities available to us and we don’t always have to choose the path that we initially think is set out for us.

Through living our lives connected to our hearts and pushing forth into the unknown (even though it’s scary) we give other people the permission to do the same.

Following that quiet, yet relentless, voice will unlikely be the easier path to choose but it will definitely be filled with a hell of a lot more joy.

As one who has recently made that step across the chasm, I wholeheartedly promise.

Relephant:

F*ck Happiness, I’ll Take Freedom Instead.

Author: Sarah Kolkka

Assistant Editor: Rebecca Lynch/ Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photo: flickr