Being Raggedy Ann in a Barbie World

Have you ever felt out-of-place in social situations? I have. A friend once said she often felt “like a house dress in an evening gown world.” Talk about feeling out of place! Imagine showing up for a party in very casual, knock-around-the-house clothes, only to discover it was a black-tie affair. NOT pretty!

First let me make something perfectly clear here about the title of this article. I’m not giving preference to Raggedy Ann or to Barbie. Most of us have heard what Barbie would look like in human form if her proportions were enlarged to a real person. She’d definitely turn heads, but not for the right reason. And, Raggedy Ann’s name alone may give us a picture of something less than pristine or desirable if used to describe ourselves.

Little girls and boys are taught in the media what body types are desirable and which are not to be imitated. Most of us look nothing like the people in the majority of advertisements we see and there’s a perfectly sound marketing reason why that is so. Commercials and print ads are selling a product and playing on our egos and insecurities to buy the wares they are hocking so that we will look better, smell better or be more like the ideals society ascribes to us to be the most desirable man or woman.

Setting Barbie’s “real” measurements aside for a moment, let’s assume that both she and Raggedy Ann are equal. See them as two different individuals, both with desirable characteristics, and each as living happy, productive and fulfilling lives. They are no different than the apple and peach trees in my yard. Both produce different and satisfying fruit. In real life, those of us who are Raggedy Ann and the ones of us more Barbie-esque can have lives worth living if we can accept our own individual gifts and personality.

I love being in a tux and am told I clean up fairly well when I wear one. But I can still enjoy being the t-shirt and jeans guy I am. You may find yourself in complimentary careers or living situations that seem diametrically opposed to others, yet you know it works for you. What we each can do is see if the “Barbie-type” goals to which we might be striving to attain are really what we want. Conversely, we can additionally examine our uncomfortable feelings with enjoying the simpler, “Raggedy Ann-type” accomplishments in our lives.

Successful living is about accepting who we are and changing what we choose to change. It’s about knowing that we need only our own approval to live our lives full-out and magnificently. Perhaps this week you’ll join me in allowing your own unique personality and gifts to be made more visible by sharing with the world who you are. The world awaits you!

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry