Years ago, in the aisle of Books-a-Million where you find self-help books, I plopped myself down and dragged my fingers along the book spines of literature offering support and help for life's woes. Depression... anxiety... unhealthy relationships... anger... co-dependence. Among them, a small yellow jacketed book stood out to me, and it changed me.
The Velveteen Principles - A Guide to Becoming Real
Within the pages of this book, I was reminded of the childhood tale of the Velveteen Rabbit, the struggle the rabbit had for maintaining a connection with the boy as he ages, and of wanting to become a real rabbit and play in the garden and meadows. With the wise words of the skin horse, the rabbit realizes that being real isn't the end journey... it's a process in life to become who we are.
So often in life we compare ourselves to others... regarding money, popularity, relationships, and other privileges. We see ourselves as not good enough, always wanting more, oftentimes not taking the time to realize that we have just what we need or that it's not our time yet to receive the goodness that life has in store. In the process of wanting to be like others, we tend to dilute ourselves... we mix in the generic-ness of other people and fade away the things that make us unique. One of my favorite lessons in The Velveteen Principles is that being "real" and authentic to ourselves means that we don't have to live the way that everyone else lives. In fact, it's the cornerstone of being real. It means being honest, and grateful, being flexible, and emotional. Being real is feeling our feelings and thinking our thoughts, and not being afraid of who we are.
If you're feeling a little fake... a little generic... and desire to become something more, I encourage you to check this book out. The link above takes you to the listing on Amazon, and even a brief look inside the pages brings insight if you choose not to purchase it.
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