Keeping it Real...

I was recently reminded of a story that had a big impact on me as a young(er) person. I think I was around 15 years old when I read a children's story and it brought with it new insight. I was reminded about this by a blog post from a stranger, which was retweeted by a friend. So, I clicked the link to Single Dad Laughing and a post about The Disease Called  "Perfection".

I like what the author had to say, it has obviously resonated with many. It has certainly identified a major problem in the culture I come from, which is also likely a human condition.

The blogger says:

"Perfection" is a hideous monster with a really beautiful face. And chances are you're infected. The good news is, there is a cure.

Be real.

Embrace that you have weakness. Because everybody does. Embrace that your body is not perfect. Because nobody's is. Embrace that you have things you can't control. We all have a list of them.

Be real...BE real....Be REAL...Real, really? That is a tough one.

Through a serious of difficult circumstances in my life I have come to despise pretense. I have a very low tolerance for it anymore - but it wasn't always this way and sometimes I can still slip back in to old habits because being real is also quite a vulnerable place to live.

What does a children's story have to do with this difficult, adult topic? It offers the best explanation I've ever seen of what it means to be real - really real. Below is an excerpt from the Velveteen Rabbit.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day..."Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you..."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
 
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"


"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you become Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Enough said. What are your thoughts on the disease of "Perfection" and the struggle to become real?

Sheri