The Curious Case of Connie Culp

Have you ever wondered whether your eyes were deceiving you? Whether the world was not exactly as you saw it?

I'm sure many of you have seen The Matrix. In one of the last scenes, Keanu Reeves, or Neo, looks around and sees a bunch of green numbers, and he realizes that for all intents and purposes, that's what the world truly is - a bunch of randomly associated green numbers.

The point of that scene - in fact, the point of the entire movie - is that the world in which we think we live is not quite the world as it actually is. These concepts have been debated by historians, philosophers (The Matrix is loosely based on the ideas of Plato), and leaders for centuries.

All of these concepts lead us to ponder: Is there more to this world - more than what I can see with my own eyes?

The answers lies in the curious case of Connie Culp.

Connie's story is ubiquitous in the news now, as she recently underwent a full facial transplant. She is only the fourth person to successfully do so. Connie's husband shot her with a shotgun in 2004 and then turned the gun on himself. He eventually ended up spending 7 years in prison for shooting her. Hundreds of shotgun fragments were embedded in her skull and face, leaving her severely disfigured. Even after 30 surgeries, Connie could not eat solid food or breathe on her own.

On December 10, 2008, Connie endured a 22-hour surgery and face transplant, in the hopes of being able to live a relatively normal life. In January 2009, Connie was actually able to eat hamburgers and pizza for the first time in years.

Connie's psychiatrist, Dr. Kathy Coffman, relayed a harrowing story:

"Once while shopping, [Connie] heard a little kid say, `You said there were no real monsters, Mommy, and there's one right there,' " Coffman said. Culp stopped and said, " 'I'm not a monster. I'm a person who was shot,' " and pulled out her driver's license to show the child what she used to look like, the psychiatrist said.


Imagine: A little child who probably does not know much about the world, and even less about Connie, sees someone disfigured and automatically labels that person "Monster."

Have you ever met someone you spoke to briefly and automatically thought that person was either an idiot, or stupid, or perhaps naive just because of one or two things that person said? Or have you seen someone and automatically judged that person in any way, before you knew the full story? I know I have, and I regret it every time.

That is why every now and again we have amazing stories about people like Connie to set us on the right path.

"When somebody has a disfigurement and don't look as pretty as you do, don't judge them, because you never know what happened to them," Connie has said. "Don't judge people who don't look the same as you do. Because you never know. One day it might be all taken away."

The curious case of Connie Culp teaches us an amazing lesson. Often what we see is not the way things truly are. We've all heard "Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover," but do we actually live that way? Imagine all the opportunities that could open for us if we allowed ourselves to be enchanted by things we see as ugly?

Yes, G-d, the Universe, The Source, whatever we would like to call the Infinite Vastness that is Everything (I'll call it G-d) created us with the amazing gift of sight. And yes we can use this tremendous sense of sight for so much good.

But at the same time, we cannot fall in love with what we see. Seeing must not be believing, as it were.

For example, if you married someone based entirely on what you saw on the outside of that person, there is a good chance the marriage would not last too long. Intuitively we know this, but sometimes we need heroes or heroines like Connie to remind us.

Next time we start to judge someone or something based upon what we see, perhaps we can use this as a chance to take a step back and think, Am I seeing everything? Is there more to this story or person than what I can see?

If the answer is no, and your intuition is telling you that, great.

But if any part of you is clamoring for more, if you feel like there's more to this story than what you see, then don't judge, open yourself up to infinite possibilities.

Think of Connie.

Because each and every one of us (at one time or another) has been that little boy in the store, and each of us has has judged based on what there is to see on the outside. If we can embrace the inside, then we will be embracing the infinite and expanding into our best selves.

And instead of labeling what we see as Monster, we will think of what's invisible, and instead be thinking Wonder.

For more on the miracle that is Connie Culp, check out this video.