Conformity

This morning I have been watching a beautiful red Cardinal flitting around outside my window.  He has been on the porch, perched on a nearby tree limb, sat on the edge of the bird bath and now is simply hopping around in the grass looking for a meal.  He stands out from the various shades of green and brown that are the primary colors of this summer morning.

Most birds blend in with their surroundings.  They are various shades of gray, black, brown and yellow with sometimes muted reds and blues mixed in.  Their coloration helps them to blend into the canopy of the trees they inhabit.  They want to hide rather than to stand out.  Over the years of their evolution into unique species, they have conformed to their environment.  They blend in.

Most people are that way.  They try to blend in.  They choose behavior that doesn't make them stand out as a target yet one of the strongest human needs is for recognition.  Fear drives us to blend in while the need for recognition pushes us to do things which bring us to the attention of others.  Sometimes that need for recognition can be self-destructive.  The attention is gained through destructive behavior.

If we could all just learn to be who and what we were designed to be I think we would all be better off.  Conformity suppresses creativity and hides talents and gifts that could make valuable contributions.  Being true to self will allow our strengths to shine and garner the recognition that each and every person craves without resorting to destructive behaviors.

I'm certainly no psychologist -- just an observer of human nature.  I also love to observe closely the natural world around me.  Yesterday while doing some cleanup around the entrance to our property, I found a wild Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus) growing in a shaded area.  It certainly doesn't conform to what we generally view as summer flowers.  Its bloom is unique, it likes shade and the color is vibrant.