The Real Thing

It was a pleasant summer evening.  We’d put together a potluck picnic, lugged our chairs, and found a comfortable spot.  If we closed our eyes, forgot the setting, and only concentrated on what we heard, we could believe we were at a Neil Diamond concert. The local entertainers, Denny Diamond Trio, were very good imitators.  This got me thinking about the real thing, good substitutes, and when and how we settle for imitation.

One of the residual benefits of Thanksgiving is a great turkey sandwich, because the rest of the year what we get in most restaurants involves a processed product.  From Spam® to diet drinks, grocery shelves are full of imitation flavors and merchandise.  Corporate marketing campaigns try to convince us they are more than just viable alternatives, they are just as good.  Why, they even blatantly named something “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter®.”  Polyester and many new fibers are great for easy care clothes, but they don’t breathe like linen or cotton. 

There is a price to pay for imitation.  I wonder what those performers have to pay annually in royalties for permission to use the Diamond brand and music.  Knock-offs cost designers not only dollars but tarnish their reputation.  Fake leather does not have the distinctive smell or feel of a properly tanned skin and fake fur can be obvious.  For those consumers whose issue is not the price of real leather or fur but the principle, they believe humanity pays a different kind of cost. News stories and novels show us it’s not too hard to find where and how to get papers to change your identity or pieces of it.   When I only read the headlines so have no sense of the depth and breadth of important issues of global realities, I become less of a citizen.

Sometimes the price is disappointment.  You’ve probably had an experience where hype so built up your expectations that the reality had you saying “is that all there is?” or “what’s the big deal?” In looking for connection or love we stay in a relationship trying to make it work, have it be the real thing, rather than accepting it is only a shadow of what we truly want or even deserve.  In our hectic phases, we can get caught up in the thinking that ‘my real life will happen – someday.’ Often that means when something else, such as college, an internship, the weight loss regimen, is over, and meanwhile, we continue on in a dreary but comfortable job, home, friendship, lifestyle, and watch the days, weeks, and months go by.  Albert Einstein said, “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one,” so whether it is false nails or a comb-over, when we try to hang on to or boost up an image of ourselves, our truths are still there underneath.

All of this to say that sometimes it’s good to assess our current situations.  From closet to kitchen, from workplace to recreation, are we living an imitation of the life we want or facing and enjoying our many realities? 

Marilyn

Did you ever read about a frog who dreamed of bein' a king and then became one?
Well except for the names and a few other changes, if you talk about me the story's the same one.

… Neil Diamond, “I am"... I said