"What all persons have in common is their uniqueness."
-- Sam Keen & Anne Valley Fox, Telling Your Story

What does it mean to be Original?

Sui Generis believes that society must not ask individuals to conform for its own sake. Individuals must in turn be willing to cooperate to create society. This new society is not based on law, a particular world-view, an "ism", but on a new consciousness, a new way of being and of relating to each other, respect for the other, and being mindful of the need to cooperate. Sui Generis believes that people who are original and creative need to be willing to be part of a community, while conformists have a need to not compromise themselves and to become more fully who they are. A person who will not consent to be part of and help create a society is not expressing originality but misanthropy.

Sui Generis celebrates the uniqueness of each person. It sees each person as being like a bright light in a sea of stars on a clear moonless night, or like a individual flower in a beautiful bouquet of wild flowers in a vase. It is sad when a person hides his or her light and becomes like the other flowers in the vase, or hides behind another flower. It is equally sad when one flower believes that it is more beautiful than or superior to another.

Sui Generis believes that being true to oneself is ultimately the best way to contribute to the health and well-being both of oneself and of one's community. Only diversity can keep a community healthy and vibrant. A healthy community knows this and, to maintain this diversity, does its best to honor and respect individuality and uniqueness. It is a symbiotic relationship that benefits both.

To be original necessarily implies that one's behavior or appearance is different from another, i.e. in relation to others. Sui Generis is based on the principle or belief that originality is not just nonconformity. An original person doesn't just want to be different, but wants this difference to be valued and appreciated. He or she is not a hermit. He or she also appreciates some degree of social interaction with others. In Sui Generis this can happen as long as the person values being in community in return. Life is not a one-way street.

Originality does not mean engaging in different behavior for its own sake. It is acting and being a certain way in spite of its being different. An original person is committed to being true to him or herself in any particular situation or context, while at the same time honoring and respecting the needs of others. This is what motivates his or her behavior.

A major consideration in exercising originality and creativity is an ability to differentiate between diversity and depravity. Just being different does not necessarily imply originality. Being different by being cruel, abusive or inhuman in some other way does not make originality. Perhaps in a wide sense of the term it can be taken that way. But difference based on depravity simply means conforming to a degraded way of being. Diversity is based on difference grounded in uniqueness and individuality. Originality as used in the Sui Generis is understood in the narrow sense of the term, implying an absence of depravity or perversion.

This distinction is maintained by the presence of the principles of Polarity Dynamics, which incorporates its own self-regulating system. A commitment to embrace and maintain these principles guarantees a healthy form of originality. This commitment is a fundamental premise and condition of membership in a sui-generis community or society.

Persons with originality have a deep passion and/or need to be true to themselves. They care less what others think than they care about being true to their deep convictions, not just their learned convictions. They want to be free from the confining and inhibiting of the judgments, values, demands and categorizations of others. But freedom in itself is empty. Freedom in itself is "freedom from" something, whether that is oppression, manipulation, etc. "Freedom for" necessarily involves the need to express one's individuality and creativity. The true nature of freedom is to enable a person to be creative, i.e. to express who they are and to contribute to the betterment and beauty of life and the world. Any freedom for oneself alone merely leads to a slavery to one's own passions and desires. Freedom without its complement soon returns it to its opposite -- slavery, prison, or chains.

Every original person considers the following difficult question to be critical to his or her life: "What is it more important to me: to be true to myself and what I feel is of value, or what other people think and want me to do?" and their answer has been unequivocal. "Normal" people either have not asked this question or have decided to heed to social and public pressure to conform. In so doing they gain but also lose. But what most original persons don't ask is, "Will I listen to the opinions and consider the values of others?" If they don't ask this question, or answer it with a "no", they lose as much as a conformist loses. It takes a high level of integrity and maturity to maintain one's individuality and uniqueness, to be true to oneself, while at the same time to listen to the opinions of others and be open to their values. Ignoring the presence, opinions and values of others, as in the case of freedom, leads originality to its opposite -- being conformed to an extreme state of originality which is simply another form of unoriginality, albeit a convoluted and complex one. It generally and quickly degenerates into some form of depravity.

Eccentricity

Many original persons stand out from the rest of the world, and often acquire the label of "eccentric". Just what is an eccentric? It is essential to differentiate between personality and eccentricity. What the world sees as eccentric may be no more than an expression of disapproval. There are many valid ways of being that are not in tune with the world as it is. But abnormality does not necessarily mean a pathology or aberration. A personality may easily be viewed as eccentric in a world that is itself imperfect in many ways. Conversely, eccentricity is not necessarily an expression of diversity. Diversity is expressed in personality, sometimes in eccentricity, never in perversion or depravity.

The meaning of the word "eccentricity" has two connotations. In the Ptolemaic system of the Solar System, the earth was put as the center, making the whole system lopsided or skewed. This is how the word "eccentric" is generally understood. But it also has an implication of being part of a larger whole or system in which I am different from other parts or aspects, as nerve cells are different from blood cells. Seen in this light, I am not afraid to be different or unique. In fact, my uniqueness is essential to the functioning of the whole. More than that, this willingness to be different enables me to be open to the differences of others.

Eccentricity in itself is healthy and is to be accepted and even encouraged. Being centered is usually considered to be a goal or way of being worth prizing. But many who are centered are not necessarily true to themselves. What does being true to oneself involve? Perhaps you don't think there's any such thing or ability as being true to yourself. If you feel that way, Sui Generis is probably not of interest to you right now. If you change your outlook, come back again.

Being eccentric or original is an acknowledgment that we can't always be at the center, or that it's even a good idea to be there at any given time. Furthermore, there are different centers for different levels of our lives. To be at the center of every one is not only undesirable, it is impossible. The center of our lives is where our lives are shaped. It is largely beyond our conscious control, let alone our normal awareness, and an effort to be there only leads to disappointment and distress. If we succeed, we will likely turn into a despot. If we fail, we lament our loss. As Oscar Wilde once remarked, "There is only one thing worse than not getting what you want, and that is getting it." The best we can do is to be in touch with that center and respond in an appropriate way, which may very well involve doing and saying things that lead others to consider us to be eccentric. The critical question is whether we will have the courage and conviction to follow through.

As an individual I also need to acknowledge that I am not the center of society or of the universe. Although this may appear obvious, many of us have not come to terms with the deep and unconscious wish within us to be important, to stand out, to be acknowledged. During infancy we were indeed the center of the world and in some ways this consciousness is still within us. The only way to outgrow it is not by denying it, but to become conscious of it and to put it into perspective. Until we do that it can easily control our behavior to the extent that it can sabotage our best efforts. Removing myself from the grand center of things is an enormous relief and immensely empowering. It relieves me of the impossible task of having to hold the universe together and allows me to be off-center, i.e., to be eccentric and my own unique self. But it also enables me to be centered within myself, which is where that center belongs.

There is a definite relationship between eccentricity and originality. Eccentrics have on the whole been found to be healthier and happier than "normal" people. They are more in touch with themselves and what they want to do. If the inner and outer benefits of being an eccentric were known and experienced, eccentricity would quickly become the norm and "normality" would eventually fade away.