Photo by Gary Bendigg on Unsplash
Did you ever read the book, The Velveteen Rabbit?
It's a powerful book made for both kids and adults.
It's about a small boy who has a beloved new toy, a velveteen rabbit. The stuffed rabbit lives in his bedroom and knows what it feels like to be loved. He talks to the wise old skin horse, another toy who live in the playroom. The skin horse tells him that some day, he won't be the boy's favorite anymore, but that love makes us all real.
One day, the boy gets very ill and the stuffed rabbit is thrown out because it's assumed that the stuffed rabbit will spread the illness to the boy again.
At first, the Velveteen Rabbit is lost.
He doesn't know who he is without the child and the safety and comfort of the playroom. But, as he begins to wake up in the trash where he realizes he doesn't belong, he knows that he wants to be real.
He felt real when he was being loved.
As he realizes how much he misses the boy, and sees "real" rabbits leaping in the wood, he begins to cry with real tears.
From these tears, a fairy comes and grants him his wish to be Real.
Despite being hurt, instead of wanting to play it "safe" as a stuffed rabbit, he's willing to risk it all to be alive.
As if from a dream, the fairy grants him his wish!
He hops on real feet & twitches his nose! He leaps into the forest where other rabbits are playing with one another and joins them.
The story ends though the meaning stays. :)
I always thought the moral of the story was to let yourself be loved.
But, what if it's more than that?
What if it's also that losses and rejections can give rise to who we truly ARE? That they make it possible for us to know how to love ourselves despite the challenges?
When we Remember who we truly are, we become Real to ourselves.
And, that means we always belong.
Feel free to share your thoughts. I'd love to hear them!
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