Loving Me : A Lesson from Eric Carle

 I enjoy watching movies with my kids that have a positive message – whether that be kindness, helping others, staying positive despite obstacles, etc. One night, reading a book to my toddler before bedtime, a light bulb went off after I finished reading the story. Purposely or not by the author, I realized the story relates to my life. The interesting part is the book is called “The Mixed Up Chameleon” by Eric Carle. Probably like many households, Eric Carle’s books have been a staple at our house since having kids – we love them! Funny how despite reading this book many times that one night I had an “aha” moment.

In case you don’t know, here’s what generally happens in the story. It begins with the chameleon catching a fly. Then  the chameleon witnesses these different animals, each with different characteristics. With each animal, the chameleon wishes he had that particular characteristic. For instance, the chameleon first wishes to be handsome like a flamingo. Then, he wishes to be smart like a fox [side note: all the while, the chameleon does turn into all of these animals at the same time with their characteristic]. He wants to swim like a fish. He also wants to run like a deer. And so on…

Once be becomes all these different animals, the chameleon sees a fly. The chameleon was “very mixed up and was a little of this and a little of that”. It couldn’t catch the fly. The chameleon wished, then, that it could turn back into itself. The wish came true, and you know what? Then the chameleon was able to catch the fly.

The moral of the story is, we all see or want to be something we maybe aren’t. With Facebook, Instagram…it’s so easy nowadays to compare and contrast. I wish I had her clothes and style. I wish I was smart like that doctor. I wish I had a nice house like him. I wish I was as athletic as her. 

At the end of the day, the chameleon realized being himself was best.