What Is Real

This question is pondered by the rabbit in the Velveteen Rabbit. It is my favorite part of the story because this rabbit wants so desperately to become real. Real is not how you are made, it is who you are, your inner self, your ness, as Randolph Dupree puts it in the movie, You, Me And Dupree. It is who you are and no one can take that away from you. At the core of real lies love. Love is the center of real. The skin horse wisely tells the rabbit when someone loves you for a long time, really, really loves you, it will make you real. You may become loose in the joints and all your hair may fall out, you may not be very attractive to the outer eye, but you will always be beautiful to the one who made you real. There is no other that can truly make you real, but being truly loved by another does do something to your inner being. To be accepted and loved for being you is a rare thing in this world. You bring real into love when you not only accept but love another, with all their idiosyncrasies, because somehow all those little idiosyncrasies are the things you love the most. And even on your worst day you are loved. That is real.