Strength and Courage

     One of my favorite children's stories is the story of a rabbit. He is a stuffed animal who has been given to a little boy as a present. He lives in the nursery with other toys who have been there longer and are older and wiser. My favorite part of the book is when the rabbit asks the horse what it means to be real. The horse replies being real happens when you are loved, really, really loved. Everybody knows that when a child carries around a favorite stuffed animal that toy can get pretty ragged. But the child doesn't care how ragged the toy is because he loves that toy and gets comfort from carrying that toy.
     The horse goes on to elaborate that to the rabbit. The one who loves you makes you real and even though you may get ragged and maybe not be so attractive outwardly you will always be beautiful to the one who made you real.
     The rabbit has a deep yearning in his heart to be real. The story goes on to tell of the boy getting very sick, the toys are tossed out. As the rabbit lays there awaiting his fate he cries. The tear falls to the ground and a flower grows. Out of the flower comes a fairy, she grants the rabbit's wish and his deepest yearning becomes true. He is real, he can move just like the real rabbits. One day the bunny hops back, the little boy sees him and thinks, he looks like my old bunny, the one that he loved so dearly.
     The transformation to being real started before his wish was ever granted. It starts in the heart in the one who dares to love. Love is a scary proposition. When you love someone you open yourself up to being hurt. There is a saying that being loved deeply gives you strength, loving someone deeply gives you courage. In our culture it is perpetrated that a man is not a man if he weeps. But nothing could be further from the truth. Tears are not a sign of weakness, but of strength, strength that dares to love and risk everything. When you love someone you dare to give your heart to them, it takes great courage to do that. Strength and courage go hand in hand, love is the strength behind courage, it fuels courage, giving one the ability to take the risk to be real.