I'm not like anyone else I know
When I'm asleep or even awake
Sometimes I get to dreaming that I'm just a fake
Often I wonder if I'm a mistake
I'm not supposed to be scared am I?
Sometimes I cry and sometimes I shake
Wondering isn't it true that the strong never break
I'm not like anyone else I know
I'm not like anyone else
-Daniel the Striped Tiger
(from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood)
Daniel Striped Tiger, the puppet from the old Mr. Rogers' show, once sang about how different he felt from all the other tigers. He was small and mild instead of a brave, ferocious beast. He didn't hunt antelope for meals--he didn't eat at all, actually. Instead of roaring and jungle-sharking decibels, he spoke English at a conversational volume. All his friends were humans, who weren't known to consort with tigers.
If he ever saw tigers at the zoo, they likely didn't even acknowledge him as one of their own.
The humans he knew were nicer to him, but he knew he wasn't one of them either. He was too short, and didn't wear clothes. He couldn't reach the pedals to drive to meet up for dinner, and he didn't have an ID to get in the club. Besides, even if Daniel did show up for a meal with his human friends, everyone knew that he would literally just be in the way.
The humans reminded him of their differences constantly, even by Daniel's name. They called him Daniel Tiger, instead of a regular name like Daniel Johnson. None of his friends were named anything like Fred Human.
Daniel was different.
Daniel S. Tiger didn't quite fit into the human world or the animal world. And there was no way to hide it.
Daniel didn't feel like he fit in, and began to wonder if something was wrong with him.
Maybe that's what you're doing too.
Maybe Christmas with family reminded you how different you are from those you grew up with. Or maybe Christmas was the breath of fresh air that reminded you how unnatural your regular life has become. Maybe the new year marked a return to a job that doesn't seem fulfilling, to a city you wouldn't have chosen, or to a routine that feels like something other than the best version of your life.
Or maybe none of that applies, and you still feel just a little lost and alone.
If that sounds a little familiar, don't worry. Even Mr. Rogers felt that way too. His puppet tiger sang the song, but Mr. Rogers wrote the lyrics. In other words, the most uncontroversial, kid-friendly, vanilla, universally beloved superstar that American television has ever produced felt unloved and alone.
The good news is that Daniel Tiger's human friend heard Daniel singing, and spoke to his concern. She turned Daniel's solo into a duet:
It's really true
I like you
crying or shaking or dreaming or breaking
there's no mistaking it
You're my best friend
Her message was simple. It doesn't matter how we are different, I love the person you are. I believe in your dreams, and I'll hold you when you life gets scary and you feel like shaking.
Having that kind of belonging is as much as most of us really need. But if you don't have that right now, that's ok too. Finding your place in the world requires at least a little bit of time wandering alone. Anyone who hasn't felt a little lost at some point, has probably never tried to find themselves.
More importantly, I like to think that maybe the message of Daniel Tiger's human friend has been God's message to us all along. A popular song on the radio suggests as much:
You say I am loved
when I can't feel a thing
You say I am strong
when I think I am weak
You say I am held
when I am falling short
When I don't belong
you say I am yours.
And I believe
What you say of me.
-Lauren Daigle
(You say)
Like Daniel Tiger, I sometimes feel like I don't belong or fall short of my wildest dreams. It's nice to think that we're held in those moments, even if we don't feel it. It's comforting to consider that maybe someone helps us gather the strength to dust ourselves off from our falls and get back up to a better place and try again. It's hopeful to imagine that the ways we feel different from everyone else were purposely and uniquely woven into our souls, to make the world different through us than what it would be without us.
So maybe we're not like anyone else. But that doesn't mean we're a mistake. We cry and shake when things don't go our way, and we wonder why everything doesn't fall into place. But someone, whether in earth or in Heaven, likes us just the way we are.
Of course, I don't know any of this for sure. But it makes me smile to think about. It makes me sleep a little more peacefully at night. It helps this life make more sense to me.
And I believe.
