Nathan didn’t quite get it.

Why you need to embrace your ‘weird’ for the sake of your aliveness and energy

Nathan was frequently depressed and he didn’t know why.

He had a good job, friends, the things that were supposed to make someone content. But something felt hollow.

He couldn’t feel whole unless someone had recently praised him.

It was like a battery that needed constant charging.

If he went too long without approval and a pat on the head, he felt drained.

Precarious.

Vulnerable.

And the more on edge like this he was, the less inclined he was to risk rejection by sharing who he really was with the world.

He had talents. Worlds of colour and innovation lurking in the dim jungles of his mind. Ideas that wanted to emerge but stayed locked away. Perspectives that nobody else seemed to have.

But they would never emerge.

Because to bring them out would invite the sharp prod of criticism. It would mean standing out, being noticed, possibly being judged. It would mark him as different in ways that felt dangerous.

And soon after, probably, a notable heaviness.

So Nathan kept it all hidden. He learned to say the right things, express the…