Has lockdown made us a little more Real?

World book day came and went yesterday, and it was of course inevitable that once again my son would end up as a member of Gryffindor House .

I was on a zoom call later on in the day and the 'would be wizard' popped in to say Hello. Rather than feel embarrassed by the situation I was happy for him to have a brief chat with my 'zoom-ee' .

It struck me that the way that we interact from a business perspective has become a little more Real. I conduct meetings with people in their homes . One client was in his daughters room filled with teddys and maybe even the odd stuffed rabbit. We are allowed a unique insight into the people that we would usually only see from across a desk.

So what is Real ? In the spirit of world Book day I'd like to share a small passage from the wonderful 'Velveteen rabbit'.

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you.

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

I'm sure a few of us feel a little loose around the joints and shabby after lockdown? One thing that the last year has taught me, is that it's ok to be real. Its ok to show something of ourselves, a degree of vulnerability. If we lose our sharp edges, and have learned over the last year not to break easily, then maybe we are moving towards being more real. It's taken me a long time to get there.

Here's hoping however, that most of my hair hasn't been loved off !