"...once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
Honestly, if you've never read THE VELVETEEN RABBIT by Margery Williams, you really should. This classic is a beautiful representation of how it's only when we have been through times that wear us down--bring scars and other things that might be considered ugly--that we become our Real selves. It is our trials and tribulations that make us who we are in life and give us the understanding of what it is to FEEL alive.
Many of us have heard that we can't know true JOY until we have known true SADNESS. It is the same with THE VELVETEEN RABBIT: this adorable stuffed animal couldn't know true LOVE--couldn't be Real--until he had experienced life to the degree that it wears him down.
I love this story because it is a wonderful reminder of the fact that Loving is difficult--it can hurt, but in spite of the hurt--the wounds--Love is worth it--there is NOTHING greater than Loving and Being Loved.
I also remember this sweet story because when I was in middle school, a friend of mine, Roger ? (I so wish I could remember his last name), was in the play and my parents and I went to see it. Roger seemed very pleased that I had gone to see his performance. I think it was the first play I'd ever seen.
Reading CHOOSE JOY by Sara Frankl made me wish I had known "Gitzy" while she was still alive. She sounds like an incredibly amazing woman who was "of the race of Joseph." I just know that we would have become fast, forever friends. My heart aches as I read about all the physical struggles she dealt with in her short life, but yet not only did she hold fast to her faith, but she continually--in spite of incredible pain--CHOSE JOY. Wow.
As someone who struggles on a daily basis to find things to be joyful about because of the trials I have been through, reading Sara's story demonstrates that CHOOSING JOY is not easy--it definitely is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment choice we MUST make. Sara knew that allowing herself to wallow in self-pity would only make her pain worse than it already was--and according to her story, it was more severe than most of us can possibly imagine.
I continually struggle with depression and its ugly deception of comfort, but like Sara, I know that allowing myself to stay in that state of depression (in other words, NOT CHOOSE JOY) is worse than living with the pain and CHOOSING JOY regardless.
It is wonderful that even a few years after her death, Sara's life and words continue to make a difference. I hope and pray that others meet her, as well, and come to know that true living, finishing the race, comes only from daily CHOOSING JOY in spite of....
I can't even.....there simply are no words.....
I am curious about what you all think about Will's decision? And Lou's attempt to "save him".....
I knew going into this book that I was going to cry at the end, but I was so not prepared for the powerful effect it had on me. Wow. Me Before You by JoJo Moyes is an adult novel with the power and FEELS of wonderful books like If I Stay and The Lovely Bones--for me. The controversy, the questions Moyes raises make this an incredible thought-provoking novel that I want to talk to others about to hear what they think!!!
I respect Lou and her attempt to "save" Will. I see so much of myself in her, especially in the fact that I would so very much love to have a pair of yellow and black, bumble bee tights, as well as in the fact that I want everyone around me to be happy and to see life as valuable and worth living.
At the same time, I don't know that I think Will is so very wrong to want to do what he wants to do. I can't even imagine what life must be like confined to a wheelchair, to have to have someone even reposition my legs for me, not to be able to roll over or readjust myself at will, or even to scratch and itch by myself--not to mention having to be spoon-fed every single thing I eat and wearing a catheter 24/7--even if/when I go out in public. And the sicknesses Will has to deal with on a constant basis as a direct result of his injury and/or the fact that he isn't able to move around.....My heart aches for what people in Will's situation have to live with.
I can't help wondering....if I was in Will's shoes, would I feel as he does--that life simply isn't worth living if I can't live it as I did BEFORE.......
How about you???? What do you think?!
And yes, I started reading Me Before You immediately after seeing the new movie trailer. In fact, the movie trailer hadn't even finished playing before it was downloading to my Kindle app on my phone!!!! I am very excited for the movie to come out. It looks like it's actually going to do justice to the book. I read that Moyes helped write the screenplay, so I expect that will make a huge difference in taking this amazing book to the big screen.
