Which popular people, fashions, and ideas do you look at and think "huh!?" as you scratch your head?

There are things all around us that we might not "get". How do you react to that feeling?

This summer I've noticed this is quite a pointed way, in particular with two events: Radiohead headlining Glastonbury, and Twin Peaks returning to our TV screens. Both of these things have brought me great joy. They've also created an amusing amount of division on my social media timelines. People react in very different ways.

What I have found fascinating is the strength of responses I've seen and heard from people who don't connect with them. "Twin Peaks sucks, David Lynch is full of himself...as is anyone who pretends to like it."

I don't get into debates about things like this because there's no point. What is clear is that there are things in life that we don't understand. And we think that the fact that we don't "get" something means that everyone else is being deceptive because our view is the objective truth.

It's like when people say that they "tell it how it is", and simply declare "what everyone else is thinking but too frightened to say". This is usually just a precursor to saying something rude and abusive, and not what anyone else is thinking at all. But it can be hard to acknowledge that we all have very different tastes, opinions, and things that resonate with us at that deeper level.

The return of Twin Peaks has given me enormous joy, a lot of head-scratching, and some great conversations with other people who are into it. I could watch it and talk about it all day long. But I have no problem with people who don't connect with it. I'm fully aware that it's not everyone's cup of tea, and that's fine.

In fact it's great, because it represents the rich tapestry of life. We all connect with different things. We like different foods, drinks, TV shows, bands, activities, types of holiday, comedians, personality types etc.

But how do we deal with that? In a world that seems obsessed with finding black and white categories by which to divide people, how can we accept that things we don't necessarily "get"/relate to, are not therefore "bad"?

In this episode I explore these questions and think about how gentle rebels can begin to set a different example in our modern divisive world.

“That cucumber is bitter, so toss it out! There are thorns on the path, then keep away! Enough said. Why ponder the existence of nuisance?” - Marcus Aurelius