"Keteng" - "Different" - "Diverso"

“Happy be the one who’s different,

Being that one truly different,

But woe to whom is different,

Being that one truly common”

Meditating on “difference” may often lead to paradoxical conclusions; initially one may be led to consider such word as a meaning, a significance, a concept, which presents itself as an attribute, namely a quality, that can inhere to an entity and increase its informative content, and therefore could apparently be subject to a definition or a description.

And yet, such quality paradoxically finds its existential foundation in the antithetic concept of absence; namely, it appears to come to life only when considered in the context of a relation of inherency, within which the “different” marks the estrangement and distance from something other, which instead is independently defined regardless of any attributes; therefore "difference" doesn’t actually appear to be adding anything new to the object it means to describe and enrich as an adjective, but only represents something through “deprivation”, or through “litotes”. Hence it represents a special type of attribute, which appears not to enrich a subject of inherence, seeing it solely takes shape within the contrast with something that on the contrary, is determined by itself; Yet, it is in this event that the true capacity of “difference” is unveiled: in contrast. However such concept mustn’t necessarily be understood in the common meanings of “conflict”, “clash” or “opposition”, instead it would be more convenient to observe that what truly springs from contrast, is “visibility”; namely, the emersion of something “different”, highlighted by another entity which is stable and definite, hence “common” in its perception and cognition, which unconsciously illuminates an entity that differs, through contrast; while what is common, often seems to become less visible.

Given this quite abstract and general reflection about the conception of “difference”, I believe the poetic lines at issue find more value and appropriate setting within the human ambient, in society, community and collectivity. In this anthropological environment, it is also required to underline that the notion of “different” is profusely impregnated with relativism: what is different in the eyes of some, may be common in the eyes of others, and vice versa. This idea is essential to comprehend one an other with humility.

In truth, I think the fundamental fulcrum of “being Different” resides in the conscience of one’s uniqueness and specific subjectivity, gifted by birth, which makes each individual fundamentally different from all others. While Happiness, resides in the footstep that follows the awareness of one’s uniqueness, namely in the acceptance of one’s own “being different”, combined with a coherent and consistent integrity in the way of living such reality, and also with bravery, a virtue which is necessary given what has been previously said: “being different” means being more visible, and being more visible may implicate being more Vulnerable, unless one heartens up proudly letting the difference be one’s primary source of strength. Moreover, one's bravery and consistency are needed to oppose against the tendency to be molded by external influences which intend to conform and even out the “different”, by means of creating canons, models, systems, constructions that aspire to order and arrange in the perspective of the “common”, the conventional, namely what doesn’t stand out anymore, what can be tamed by the masses, what is no longer to be feared by the sheep. In conclusion, Woe, trouble, resides in the hypocrisy and falsehood of an individual whom yields to said influences, rebuking his own specific “difference” which specially distinguishes said person by principle, for motives of benefit, need, or worst, fear of one’s own unique vulnerability in relation to the powerful leveling action of the “common” lawmaker; and despite one’s own cowardly betrayal, such “common individual”, conformed to the common regime, still declares to be worthy of note, special and “different”, revealing in this manner, the secret regret and remorse to have lost that extraordinary vulnerability, that incomparable and sole feature that makes our existence worthy of being dwelled.

"Dedicated to the One whom made Difference her Core"