Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Doctrix Periwinkle's avatar

You write, "But being comfortable in your body isn’t expensive. That’s a convenient and lucrative lie. It’s not expensive; it’s difficult. It’s extremely difficult to accept yourself. Impossible, even. The only way to get anywhere close to self-acceptance is to earn it, to become someone deserving of it."

This reminded me of a famous exchange from a hundred-year-old children's book: "'Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long times, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real.' '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 times. 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 once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.'" -Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit--who in the story becomes a real rabbit after he has ceased to be a purchased toy.

Expand full comment
JR Meyer's avatar

Anybody ever seen "Century of the Self" by Adam Curtis? A mind blowing documentary. This shit we have now is an insane version of what started nearly 100 years ago when companies started to market to individuals to try to get them to stand out and buy their identity.

To me the root of this problem can be traced back to materialism, the death of the reality of the spiritual. Our truest identity is spiritual and if that doesn't exist we are groping for something material to fill its place. When God doesn't exist we become gods and creators of our 'selves'.

Lord have mercy

Expand full comment
136 more comments...

No posts