The Ugly Mannequin (who are you calling ugly?)

For those of you who don't know me I can be a bit quirky. For those that do know me I can hear you saying "Duh!" Sometimes, and I'm sure I am the only one, I say or do foolish things. I call this condition: Accidental Inappropriateness or AI for short.

This is NOT an ugly mannequin

I believe the first manifested episode struck me as a teenager, while walking with a friend through the old Harts department store in Delaware, Ohio. My eye was caught by two mannequins that were similarly dressed and posed closely together. The first was posed naturally. Not human naturally, but mannequin naturally. The second was posed human naturally, just standing there motionless the way mannequins do.


The first one looked like a normal everyday store mannequin. If it was in a warehouse full of mannequins you would not be able to pick it out from any of the others. I know the thought of being in a warehouse full of mannequins is a bit freaky for some so I apologize for the imagery. The second one was different than the first in that it was ugly. I had never seen an ugly mannequin before. I always thought they were supposed to be beauty neutral, well, as much as I thought about things like that.

I commented to my friend as I pointed, "That is an ugly mannequin."  I did not whisper it to him since it wasn't a secret. Other people had to have realized that it was an ugly mannequin, too. Because I was being funny, I even put heavy emphasis on the "Ug", drawing it out a couple extra seconds... "Uuuuggggggly". And then we laughed.

I don't know why I had an opinion on the aesthetics of a life-sized, plastic clothing model. I saw it. It was ugly. I said so. Unfortunately, the "mannequin" turned out to be a lady who just happened to not be moving when I had looked at her. I realized this after she looked at me and said "excuse me?".

I  couldn't play it off. When I pointed and made my exclamation it was obvious about whom I was speaking. What could I say? "Oh, wow! Sorry, lady. I thought you were a mannequin. For a lady you are okay". I would never call another person ugly or intentionally hurt their feelings. That's just not me. And now I will never knock a mannequin either.

What's my point? Although the great mannequin debacle of 1985 was truly a mistake on my part, a case of AI, how many times have I made the same types of judgement knowing that it was a real, living, breathing human being? How many times have I put down someone else's point of view, intelligence, circumstances, appearance or some other lack of normalcy? Maybe I never intentionally pointed at someone and called them ugly or stupid but I know I have thought it.  I know I have made snide comments or jokes. And we all know that's okay as long as I was just kidding, right? Wrong. That was sarcasm.

Look, we live in a society that is broken. Countless people are physically, mentally, relationally, financially and/or spiritually challenged. Some are adversely affected by the poor choices that they or some other person made.

We who believe we have it all together tend to judge from high up on our perch, those who don't. We tend to believe that what we initially see on the surface is all there is to a person. Well, these are people not lifeless, soulless mannequins. And when we indulge in crude and harsh thought or commentary about them, or bully them, we are simply projecting the insecurity of our own inner man. When we judge, we are reflecting the condition of our own heart and quite possibly crushing another human being in the process, whether we mean to or not.

I would like to encourage you with this post to consider the people around you. Those in your sphere of influence that are maybe not what you would consider "normal." Then, imagine that person as your child. Will you go out of your way to love them? You know, the way Jesus went out of His way to love you. I hope so.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe, share with others, and drop me a line. If you are interested in booking me for your event as a motivational speaker or comedian, check out my site at www.funnybutclean.com or e-mail me at dwaynecastle40@yahoo.com. I can also be reached directly by phone at 419-961-1265. 

An Order of Awesome with a Side of Vacation, Please.

I know what you've been thinking: "Hey, what happened to last week's Beyond Living post?" Thank you for noticing that a week was missed. I was on vacation and if I took the time to post, my wife would have chucked my iPad into the ocean. Worse, she may have tossed me into the Atlantic and spared the iPad, or as she calls it, the Mahjong machine.

How was my vacation? It was awesome! Thanks for asking. I think people overuse that word, "awesome", nearly as much as they overuse commas and quotation marks. "That movie was awesome!", "That Chevette is awesome!", or "That new Justin Bieber song is awesome!" Okay, that last one is a given, but let me explain the point I am really trying to make.

Laying on the beach, alternating between naps and a good book, followed by body surfing and parasailing was really cool. Universal Studios and Epcot were also nice places to visit. Performances by Blueman Group and Cirque du Soleil were demonstrations of imagination, excellence and beauty in motion that I had never dreamed of. And Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and The Great Smoky Mountains were outstanding. It was a great vacation. But those experiences in and of themselves were not awesome. Those experiences aren't what tripped my "awesome" trigger.

Awesome was SHARING those experiences with some of the people I love most in life. My beautiful wife Deborah and I celebrated our wedding anniversary which not coincidentally was also a celebration of the best two years I have ever lived. Being married to my best friend, laughing and loving every day, definitley ranks in the awesomeness category. Even better than that new Bieber song.

We were also able to share these experiences with one of two amazing daughters and her husband, who isn't quite as equal in amazingness, but pretty close. Deborah and I were able to spend 9 days and 2600 miles with these two "kids". That was awesome!

Samantha and Andy are leaving in less than two weeks on a missionary trip to Cambodia. While there, they will be teaching young men and women how to escape the circumstances of poverty, brutality and human-trafficking through education, skills building, fellowship and Christian discipleship.

They will be living among these young men and women, with whom they love, for the next six months, seven days a week. Living where they live, eating what they eat, shopping where they shop: sharing life with them. Even though I am going to miss them while they are gone, and will be praying for their safety and well-being the whole time, I say again, awesome!

The thrills and chills of Cirque, the audio/visual display of Blueman, the wonder and power of the ocean and the beauty and majesty of the mountains are all great. But being able to share life with the best people I know? That is what awesome looks like. Watching them give their lives to help make someone else's better... definitive awesomeness.

If you would like to be part of this particular brand of awesome, helping to support Samantha and Andy while on their trip, they can use your prayers, encouragement, and/or financial support. Send me a message and I will get you the information you need. I will also link to their blog once they have it up and running.

What does awesome look like to you? And if you can think of something more awesome than sharing life with great people, fulfilling your purpose in life and doing great things for God, I would love to know about it.