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.
Interpretation
True beauty comes from authenticity and love rather than physical appearance.
This quote emphasizes the idea that true authenticity and being 'Real' is achieved through the experiences of love and vulnerability, which may leave visible marks on one's physical form. It suggests that genuine beauty stems from emotional depth and understanding, rather than superficial standards imposed by those who may not comprehend the value of authenticity.
In practice
Sharing this quote during a graduation speech to encourage graduates to embrace their true selves.
Real isn't how you are made. It's a thing that happens to you. Sometimes it hurts, but when you are Real you don't mind being hurt. It doesn't happen all at once. You become. Once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand. Once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always.
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 time, 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.
He didn't mind how he looked to other people, because the nursery magic had made him Real, and when you are Real shabbiness doesn't matter.
When you are Real, shabbiness doesn't matter.
When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.
Land is a very broad as well as a complex issue, and it has to be handled very delicately because around land, there is quite a lot of emotion.
Many people in their teens wonder about these big questions - what's the meaning of life, what are we doing here - then somewhere in their 20s, they seem to say, 'I'll just get married. I'll just have kids. I'll get back to that later.' But they never do. For me, it kept boiling.
Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
In so far as the mind sees things in their eternal aspect, it participates in eternity.
Giving to others selflesly and anonymously, radiating light throughout the world and illuminating your own darkness, your virtue becomes a sanctuary for yourself and all beings.
You empty yourself and wait, listening. After a time you hear it: There is nothing there...You feel the world's word as a tension, a hum, a single chorused note everywhere the same. This is it: This hum is the silence.
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