From the Velveteen Rabbit
"The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "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. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"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 happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are 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.""
My Thoughts:
This quote has always had a special place in my heart. I've always tried to be authentic and open... in short REAL. The line about "Does it Hurt" rings so true, because it does hurt. People take advantage of those around that are authentic and unafraid to be just who they are, setting aside all of the socially norms put forth. Yes, it hurts when they belittle only to make themselves appear "better than". This is where strength of conviction comes into play. If you can truly believe in yourself it will take the wind out of their sails... they will have no power over you.
This thought process has taken years to refine. The first step is to be happy with who you are. As RuPaul says at the end of her shows... "If you can't love yourself, how can you love someone else... can I get an AMEN up here..." What wise words! Second step is the hardest, To allow others in the thought process... to BE authentic... to love no matter what. Once that is achieved you can be free... you can be authentic... you can be REAL!
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