A wise friend of mine posted this morning about her recent doctors appointment, and nearing the 5 years cancer-free benchmark. Her thoughts immediately reminded me of one of my very, very favorite passages in literature, from one of my favorite children's books, The Velveteen Rabbit, and I thought I'd share. Its a wonderful thought for Easter:
"The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise. . .nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it. . . .
'Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you'. . .
'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 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 when you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.' "
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