I found this beautiful little yellow book called, The Velveteen Principles: A Guide to Becoming Real. It is based on the children’s story the Velveteen Rabbit in which a child’s stuffed rabbit becomes real once it’s loved enough.
She contrasts being real with objectification – where we aspire to be perfect shiny objects so we will have value. The only problem is that there is no value in this because one’s soul is always abandoned in pursuit of perfection.
This book tickles me… It is along the same lines as the “essentialization” definition I received in my sleep a couple weeks ago – shed layers of socialization and be yourself!