The wise words of the Velveteen Rabbit
What a wonderful way to see the journey from false to true self. It takes time, patience, a lot of love – from God and from ourselves towards ourselves, it takes courage and a willingness to let so much of what we held tightly die. It is a journey of letting go and letting be, of discovering our unique place as one within a world of equal others. It’s a low, narrow and humble path yet it is the path that leads to the fullness of life, contentment and deep joy…
‘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.’
Margery Williams
The Velveteen Rabbit
