This poor sweating Rhino, running her heart out on a treadmill. She looks with yearning and determination at the poster beside her. The poster shows a svelte unicorn looking regal and confident. And the encouraging message this image is meant to offer: Never give up on your dreams.I've seen this image several times in my life. Every so often, it makes its way around Facebook, being shared as an inspiration for all. And while I understand the idea behind the picture, I have a problem with this every time I see it. Actually, I have several problems with it.
1. Our heroine is a rhino (I'm assuming she's meant to be a female. I'm not sure how many men would be inspired by a male rhino who is in turn inspired by a male unicorn). She is a heavy girl, but she has decided that needs to change. She's chosen the image that best represents who she thinks she needs to be and she's going for it. But by its very definition, a rhino is a large mammal - created to be a particular shape. God didn't make a skinny rhino (or elephant or whale or hippo) for a reason. In the same way, He didn't make large ladybugs, butterflies, or bumble bees. Each is created in perfection. Each is unique and wondrous. Why should a rhino attempt to be anything other than what it was created to be?
2. Let's turn to the perfectly toned unicorn. She is a lovely thing. Who wouldn't want to have that physique? Except that the unicorn doesn't exist. She's a created image of an animal mistranslated and misrepresented that a portion of the world has accepted as truth. How similar this is to the distorted images in magazines, where we are conditioned to accept that edited photos are the measuring stick of our value. That the female rhino believes she must work to obtain a particular body is sad enough. But that she believes she must work to achieve false and impossible perfection is the real tragedy. Add to that the implication that your dreams are forever unattainable - because no matter how hard you try, they'll always be false. Just a fantasy.
3. The picture implies weight. Big rhino, skinny unicorn, running treadmill - not much to mess up on that analysis. But I think it's an analogy that fits many situations. We see what others have achieved and want so badly to obtain their lifestyle or attain their status. We think we aren't good enough until we are something else - usually based on someone else's unrealistic standards. So we sweat and dig deep and tell ourselves to "never give up;" but the reality is that unless we are working on goals that are good for us specifically, we are simply trying to mimic what we think is best.
The truth is, if we are not working on the condition of our hearts, any outer change is obsolete. We may be beautiful, successful, rich, smart, skinny, fashionable, famous, or popular; but if our heart is full of pride, hate, selfishness, bitterness, unforgiveness, or anger, nothing else matters. No dream realized or goal achieved will ever be greater than the person you are in your heart.
Only God can give you your worth. He deems that you are priceless and valuable. And His goals and dreams for you may not be the goals and dreams He has for someone else. That doesn't make you less of a person - it makes you unique. It makes you...YOU.
God is a Creator of diversity and originality. There are so many species He's created, creatures are still being discovered. There's no logic to adapt or evolve into something else when He obviously created everything differently for a reason.
So stop looking to be a unicorn! If you're a rhino, be the best rhino you can be! If you're a turtle, be the best turtle ever! If you're a dragonfly, be the best dragonfly the world has ever known!
There's only one of each of us - we need to remember how amazing that fact is.
*Disclaimer: I am in no way implying that anyone is an animal. I'm sticking with the metaphor of the story, not trying to be mystical. Bottom line - be the best YOU.
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