Are we the opposite of Pinocchio?
Instead of becoming a “real boy”
are AI, social media, consumerism, and politics inviting us to become a wooden marionette?
Have we lost connection with our own soft and elastic flesh?
Will we allow our heart and soul to leave us,
so our once soft bodies are replaced with hard wooden edges?
Will we let ego-driven leaders move our strings to serve their own corrupt purposes?
The alternative to becoming a puppet, is to awaken to the values of kindness, courage, and selflessness.
Listen to your own beating heart.
Vacate the tough wooden exterior.
Embrace tenderness again.
Listen to the voice of compassion inside of you.
Now you are a real girl.
Now you are a real boy.
Now you are alive.
Christy Bonner
January 13, 2026
Inspired by Howard Thurman’s words:
There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.
