becoming Real

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose 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." 
-The Skin Horse to The Velveteen Rabbit  

No wonder people are scared to be Real.

People don't like to feel pain and suffering.  That's a natural thing.  However, with all of our recent inventions and discoveries to make our lives better, easier, and happier, people try to skip over the hard things in life.  I read an article a while ago about a woman whose mother died, and after a week she started taking anti-depressants to help her feel better.  You're supposed to feel like crap a week after your mom dies-- that's grief.  It's natural.  I think many people today feel that they deserve nothing but happiness and any kind of hardship is unfair.  Life is a cycle and a balance.  You can't have happiness without sadness.  The mountaintops wouldn't be that grand without the valleys below.

Our lives today are so filled with amenities and stuff that take as away from reality.  There are people who are scared to sit alone with themselves or think.  We believe it's safer to stay clear of risk and discomfort.  We believe we'll be happier that way.  However, those cushions are what lead us to static complacency.

If we have hope to become Real, we have to accept the hardship with the joy.  That's not to say there isn't a cost-- you will suffer wear and tear.  However in the end, you will be Real, you will find wisdom, you will grow, and you will be Alive.

"Not everybody lives, but everybody dies." 

-Blue Scholars 

go deep.  get Real.  love profoundly.