Saturday, April 16, 2005

Jekyl or Hide?

Once upon a time there was a big cuddly teddy bear and all the children loved him.
Or another way to say it would be...
Once, while working as a busboy at a holiday Inn somewhere in Detroit Michigan, I had the privilege of wearing a giant Teddy Bear costume as part of a Christmas party for a bunch of children.
Although the costume was very hot, it was rewarding. It was fun being automatically loved by strangers. In a costume you tend to forget who you are and become who they think you are.
After a couple hours of handing out presents and being adored by children full of Christmas spirit, it was time to become human again.While walking out through the lobby I smiled and said goodbye to a child, that only a few moments before I could hardly peel off my leg. Naturally he, and his mother, looked at me like I had the plague.
Oops...
How dare a long haired stranger approach them!
"What was I thinking? "
After all, this is Detroit City.
I might be a dangerous hippy.
I couldn't say, "Hi, I was the Bear...You were clinging to my leg?"
It just seemed awkward at that instant because I was the same lovable person on the inside, and had forgotten that I looked different on the outside.
Loved one minute, rejected the next.
This was a lesson in human perception and quite possibly a metaphor for something much bigger.
People may like you for who they believe you are. Or, maybe people like you for who you let them believe you are. (or maybe people don't even like you, haha) It's up to you.

The internet is kinda like a big Teddy Bear costume.
You can be yourself, and if you're a nice likeable person, hopefully, that is what people will see.
Just don't take your costume off.

Here is the crux...Beware of the Wolf in Sheeps clothes.

May You Live Happily Ever After.!

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