The Velveteen Rabbit

Imperfect.
Never brand new again
How do we embrace ourselves?
Accepting our bodies
As life makes it marks
Remains one of life’s greatest challenges.
Our body is a temple
We were told growing up.
A temple
Dwelling place of the holy
It was our job to keep it pure.
To keep it perfect.

How can that be done
Without leaving it in the package?
But can we love without opening
Without touching and embracing 
Without getting a little dirty?

The first time my eldest was injured
I recall the torrent of love
Which flooded by being.
I can also still feel the fear
Fear of loss, of her suffering and of my failure 
to protect her.
That chipped baby tooth
Held all those emotions
While my heart glimpsed a love
Greater than I knew existed.

Imperfect.
Our bodies are human
Human ~ not divine
They are mortal and vulnerable
Yes, we can nurture them
Feed them well
Seek peace for our spirit
And movement for out limbs
We can immunize, do our screenings
Take our vitamins
And breathe deeply
Breathe Deeply

But our bodies 
Wear and tear and break
They sag and wrinkle
We sometimes creak and sigh and moan
We sometimes hurt
And it is okay
It is not failure
It is human.

Can we embrace our humanity?
Do we believe the Velveteen Rabbit
Became more real
More loveable
As she lost her velvet sheen?

Is the only way to invest the talents 
We have been given*
To open the package
And dare to live fully
The one life we have been granted.

Broken is not failure
It is a side effect of living.
Broken gives path for light
Illumination for the inner self
The true self

When the exterior wrinkles, sags and cracks
The outer shell is more flexible
Creating room for our true being
To stretch and morph

Pain, suffering is a part of our human existence
Can we accept it
And not fear it
While we work to alleviate it
May it grow within us compassion
For the suffering of the world.


*Matthew 25:14-30