I want to share with you a paraphrased passage from the book “The Velveteen Rabbit”.
“Does it hurt to become real?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes” said the Skin Horse.
“When you are real, you don’t mind being hurt”.
“Does it happen all at once?”
“It does not 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 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”.
The process of getting real can be an ugly one. A painful one. A long one. It can also be an inspiring one. A heartwarming one. An exquisite one. The journey to becoming real is the true hero’s journey. As someone once said, “refusing to start your journey does not stop you from having one”–so get out of the way of your hunger for realness (however it shows up), and step into your own unique adventure.
What is one thing you can do today that will take you one step closer to REAL? Are you sacred to do it? Great! Now go do it anyway!!
