The word, unique is neutral; it is neither good or bad.

I would make the general statement that we are all alike, rather than being unique. We all want the same thing in life- happiness, satisfaction, good relationships with family/ friends, etc. 

I would even make a controversial statement (against tea drinkers) that all people like morning coffee!

Uniqueness is a rare quality I do not encounter often in my daily life.  On the other hand, when I experience it, you know it is well…”unique”.  

The uniqueness always comes in communication styles, both verbal and especially non-verbal kind. In fact, the non-verbal kind of uniqueness screams stronger.  

Years ago, I met a truly unique person at a friend’s dinner party in New York City. It was a cold, dreary, raining all-day kind of spring weather, and the unique person showed up.   

While the rest of us were waiting for her to join the group, she first said hello and then started to walk towards the living room, without taking her rainboots off at the apartment entryway!

I was shocked, and my surprise formed many questions:

• Was she a rude person who did not care about the host’s cleaning the dripping water?
• Was she from a culture where taking off shoes is unaccepted?
• Does she not notice dripping water on her boots?
• She is incapable of using her hands?

Since I was dying to know the reasons for seemingly rude behaviour, I decided to become a rude person myself. I asked her the question why she did not take off the shoes.

Her answer surprised me. She was upfront about her thinking process without being evasive. Since she did not want to take off her bulky rain boots, and the host did not say that she had to take them off when she walked in, therefore, she did not think it was necessary.

It was such a precise, and also honest answer I did not have a response to. Her decision logic was based on the facts (difficulty of taking boots off, host not making shoes off rules), and she made the decision to keep her boots on.

Even with her seemingly selfish(?), or even somewhat rude behaviour, I recognize the uniqueness I do not see in many people. It was her direct, precise response to an uncomfortable question I came to value.    

I realized the beauty of her uniqueness. It wasn’t about defiance or rudeness; it was about authenticity. She was unapologetically herself, navigating the world with honesty and integrity.  

Encountering a unique person (or experience) is rare, and it is this scarcity (or the unexpectedness) of it that makes it a definite POSITIVE quality, rather than a neutral one!