The point of this article is not to try to exclude certain groups of people from one another or appeal to a certain type of audience. The point of this article to provide comfort and a sense of relief to people who get bullied, called names, and judged for not fitting in with the rest of society.

Some people are just old souls and need to be accepted as such. If you are one of the people that gets called crazy for thinking you can feel people’s energy, or a hermit for needing to have time alone, or a ‘weirdo’ for believing in alternative things, the best thing you can do is continue to be true to yourself.

As an old soul, trying to conform to a society that is hollow and spiritually void will only cause you pain and suffering. Don’t let authority figures or institutions pressure you into betraying your passions, desires, and natural state of being.

Here are 5 things that only old souls will understand:

1. THE NEED FOR SECLUSION AND ISOLATION

Every old soul knows the extreme importance of taking time away from life, people, and obligation and spending time alone in isolation. Life can be overwhelming at times, and the energies of other people can be exhausting. Spending time alone in nature, or sitting by yourself on a park bench, or spending all day in your room are things which have become necessary for your spiritual health at times.

Some people may call you a hermit or say that you are socially challenged, but you just know the value of spending time alone to detox, reflect, and nurture yourself.

2. THE DESIRE FOR GROWTH

More than happiness and living comfortably, you want to live a life that encourages growth and expansion. You value growth and experience so much that you are willing to go through pain, suffering, and depression in order to learn more about yourself.

You take risks and go on adventures that other people may think are unwise, but playing it safe is just too boring for you. At the end of your journey here on earth, you would love to have experienced a life full of ups and downs, suffering and joy, and amazing adventures as opposed to having experienced a life playing it safe.

3. BEING HIGHLY OBSERVATIONAL AND INTUITIVE

From a young age, you have been able to get a really good read on people. From watching someone interact for just a few minutes, you are able to identify the characteristics that person would have and the lifestyle they live. It’s almost like you have this software that allows you to look around and download the information on other souls.

This is because you have seen the archetype of that person before in a past life and are familiar with the general behavior and psychology of that archetype. You have interacted with thousands of people throughout the course of your souls history, so there is really no archetype you haven’t interacted with yet.

This doesn’t mean you are judgmental, it just means you are observational. You may find yourself at parties or social gatherings looking around every once in a while checking things out. Watching people interact, observing the exchanges of energy that are occurring during conversation. You may even feel more comfortable as a distant observer than as a participant. It feels natural to you.

Having the ability to get a good read on people has also given you a really good bullsh*t detector. When someone is lying to you, you know it. You notice the disassociation in their eyes, the shift in their energy field, the change in the way they pronounce words. You’ve been through this place many times before, so you aren’t socially naive, even though you may have not had much social interaction in this life. You’ve always been hard to manipulate because you can see into the real intentions and desires of other people. You are just good at feeling people out intuitively.

Some people may call you creepy or think you are a wackjob for trying to be psychic, but it comes naturally to you to pick up on the thoughts and energies of other people.

4. THE REJECTION FOR ANYTHING ‘MAINSTREAM’

Mainstream music is heartless, passionless, and washed up. Mainstream media is polluted, biased, and deceptive. The mainstream lifestyle is dry, boring, and disappointing.  Because you recognize this, you have adopted ‘alternative’ ways of thinking and living that may seen weird to other people.

Personally, I listen to a lot of atmospheric metal and post-rock because it offers me what I desire to receive out of music spiritually and existentially. I can’t stand the radio. I remember showing some people the music I liked and having them reply with “that’s not even music”. I’m sure I’m not alone in knowing what it feels like to feel excluded based on your alternative beliefs, tastes, and preferences.

5. THE APPRECIATION OF THE JOURNEY

You have learned to trust and appreciate the journey. You aren’t trying to be “deep”, you simply can’t help but be overwhelmed at times with feelings of gratitude, thankfulness, and humility.

You understand that life is impermanent and don’t take anything for granted. Others around you don’t understand why you like spending time in nature so much, why you meditate so often, or why you stare at the stars all the time, but that’s because they are simply too distracted with worldly matters to see the big picture.

If you identify with any or all of these 5 things, then you can be sure that you are either mature beyond your years or you have lived a life or two on this planet in the past. The vast majority of the human population does not understand these 5 things, and actually takes pleasure in ridiculing and making fun of those who don’t seem to fit in.

You aren’t trying to be different, psychic, intuitive, or deep. Your soul is just hardwired a different way. Don’t let anybody tell you that you need to change to fit the expectations of the world around you. The world doesn’t need more carbon copies. It needs more individuals following the things that make their souls come alive.