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'Tis the season to watch some holiday flicks. I love snuggling up with my family with some popcorn and the fire going to enjoy time together while we enjoy some classic movies.
Some of our favorites are:
"Elf"
"Home Alone" (that's my kids fave, not mine)
"A Charlie Brown Christmas"
"The Grinch"
"A Christmas Story"
and, of course "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
In fact, this very old movie is more than just entertainment. If you haven't seen it, it's a classic, and I would highly recommend it.
But I think it's safe to assume we all know the story of the infamous reindeer, Rudolph. He is born with a shiny nose and from the time he is a young reindeer, his parents try to hide this feature. They want him to "fit in" and work his way up to being one of Santa's reindeer. He is made fun of by all the other reindeer and eventually decides that since he doesn't fit in it would be better if he left the North Pole.
He heads off on an adventure and ends up finding an island, thoughtfully named The Island of Misfit Toys. This island is where all the toys that have some strange quirk about them live. Because of said quirks, these toys feel that there is no human child who could possibly want to play with them so they have all banned together on this island.
What's sad about this is that all of these toys really had nothing wrong with them, they just had unique, special characteristics that they thought made them unacceptable (an elf who wants to be a dentist, a doll with no nose, a Charlie-in-the-box, a train with square wheels, a bird that swims, and many more). And they assumed because they were different, they did not belong and no one would want them.
This is not an uncommon thing to do. Most of us (if not all of us) spend a lot of time finding how we are different and don't fit in.
We think because we "think differently", or don't agree with most people, or because we want to do something outside "the mold" that there must be something wrong with us. That we should hide that part of us. That unless we think, act, and are like all those around us we are not worth sharing.
Why do we do this? Because we want to belong so badly and we think conformity equals belonging. I am here to tell you that is not the case, and it is also not a very fun way to live.
It is very hard for people to love an inauthentic version of you. Plus it is so much more freeing to just be the true, real you.
Did you know that not everyone will love you and THAT IS OKAY!!?
We want the people in our life who love us as we are! Truth be told we are all misfits. We all have unique, special characteristics, and we are all totally amazing just the way we are!
Rudolph ends up saving Christmas because his nose provides the needed light for Santa to deliver gifts. We are just as needed, and we need to not hide our uniqueness, but share it with the world!
Now go be you.