Teddy bear

From Elfi

Many children have an object precious to them, whether it is a blanket, or a teddy bear, or something else. Now this child, she carries her teddy bear with her everywhere, because it is her precious thing, and this is natural. One day she’s gone to the park, taking her teddy bear with her. A pair of older children notices. For their own amusement, they take the bear from her and play keep-away. While this is going on, the bear gets dropped, gets muddy, gets torn. Eventually, the two tire of their game and leave her with her bear. She returns home in tears. Even after the bear is washed and sewn, she remains upset, and resolves to be more careful with the bear in the future. It doesn’t come with her nearly as often anymore and, eventually, comes to sit on a high shelf where she can barely see it. This is worth it, she decides, because at least there won’t be anyone hurting the teddy bear anymore. Years later, she has forgotten that it is there, and it lays there under dust, unused.

These precious things, in the meta sense, are our gifts. Very often, sometime in early childhood, these gifts are hurt by others calling them “bad” or “unacceptable” or similar. Making the decision to keep carrying that teddy bear, because it is a part of you, even if you may be hurt by it, is a decision which needs to be made over and over again.