by Sarah.Phoenix

“I am human and I need to be loved/Just like everyone else does.” – The Smiths, “How Soon is Now?”

So you’re Otherkin. What could be better? You’re Awakened, finding yourself, experimenting, reaching out to others of your kind, and generally gettin’ down with the whole otherworldly vibe.

It’s time for the unpleasant wake up call – no matter what the state of your soul, you still have a human body to contend with. This envelope, barring some plastic surgery, is what is going to hold your form for a few years yet. Though you may feel your wings, your tail, your claws, your fangs, Average Joe isn’t going to see any of that. Instead, he is going to see the human form that is unique to you, and he’s going to relate to what he sees.

*Sniff!* Who cares about Joe? He’s just some mundane human. I’m not like him. I’m Otherkin! I’m special! I’m different!

Reign it in there, oh elite one.

Do you think, even for an instant, that poor old Joe doesn’t think that he’s special? Different? Worthy? Purposeful, even? Of course he does. Self-worth is an intrinsic part of a fulfilling life. Those who feel worthless tend to be depressed, self-destructive, and even suicidal.

No matter what the form of your envelope, hating it means hating yourself. Eventually, that hatred will manifest and the results could be less than pleasant. So I propose learning to love it instead – and by extension, to love yourself and your current world.

Human beings are funny, quirky, brilliant, ignorant, inventive, and dull all at the same time. They are the most quixotic creatures in existence. They will die for their beliefs. They will cling to their ideals. Their emotions are like brilliant rainbows, like prisms, shining and bouncing everywhere. Two humans can have opposite beliefs about everything, yet each be convinced that they are 100% right. They are wise children. They are idiot philosophers. They are murderers, maniacs, artists, harbingers, dreamers, deceivers, monsters, and everything in between. They are individual. They are no more mundane than any angel, any elf, any dragon, any demon, or anything else. They are as they are, and we can no longer see the beauty in their peculiar brand of life because we have been saturated by it since birth.

For better or for worse, you have the body of a human. This human body, your body in this world, will die. You may live forever, but your precious human skin, the skin that saves you from persecution, mistrust, fear, and possible annihilation, will only belong to you for a short time. Is it within you to step down from your pedestal to love it? To treat it right and allow it to work well? The human body is an organic machine of such elegance and precision that it takes the breath away. Yet we disdain it. We hate it. We refuse to see it as the gift that it is.

Among your kind, you are lucky. You’ve come here, and you’ve been born as a human. Human power lies in neediness, in a desire for closeness, understanding, and meaning. Human power lies in the ability to preserve species and environments, to create skyscrapers and cars, to harness electricity and wind! Humans are the ultimate inventors, a child-like race that can see a whole world as a toy. As Otherkin, you can hate them and stand by to watch them break it – or you can show them new ways to play. In your true form, you won’t be able to do it. They know they are fragile, so they lash out like frightened children. But in your human form, your form in the here and now, you are gifted. You are blessed. You have the ability to see the universe through the eyes of a child again.

You only have so much time here.

Wonder.

Dream.

Enjoy.

What could be better?