I love fairly tales, and not just when I was a kid.
Of course I"m still a kid at heart! Very much the dreamer and the romantic. Eagerly waiting for that happy ending. And fairly tales are perfect for catering to that whim.
Or maybe it's just that fairly tales teach us about hope. The eternal battle between good and evil; with the good always winning. Somewhere in the midst of the story at the point of climax the story seems to hover in favour of the evil side, but then the tipping point comes When the hero or heroine realises that within them lies a greater giant than the one outside and it's only when they unleash their internal giant that they're able to conquer that external giant.
It's all about hope. One of my favourite fairly tales is Cinderella. What young girl could ask for more? It has all the elements of romance complete with a beautiful young girl, albeit mistreated, but then she ends up marrying the most eligible bachelor! The prince and the heir to the kingdom. But that's not the only reason why the story appeals to me.
It's also a story of transformation.
A young girl who is overlooked by her own family. Orphaned at a young age. Motherless. Penniless. She thought her father was her only ally, and he was until he re-married. A terrible fate for a young grieving girl. As if this wasn't bad enough the woman he married, and whom she was supposed to call 'mother' was everything a mother wasn't.
A mother comforts you and cradles you on her bosom when she sees you sad. A mother looks into your eyes and just knows how you feel. A mother kisses your hurt and makes it go away. A mother asks if you've eaten even if you tell her a hundred times that you have. A mother rushes to your side no matter where in the world you are, the moment she finds out if something is wrong.
Cinderella's stepmother was not her mother; not in the true sense of the word. But she really had no choice, it was either stay in the house and do what she said. or be tossed out of the house to fend for herself. She decided to stay and submit herself to the erratic demands of her stepmother and her stepsisters, not knowing that her next miracle was around the corner.
Not many of us are granted a fairy godmother but maybe the Universe was watching and saw her humility and service and decided to reward her. But even before the fairy godmother appeared there was something that Cinderella did. Something simple, but ever so powerful.
She set an intention.
Perhaps it was an intention born out of desperation, but it was a pure intention. She had a desire to be someone better, to have better, and to do better. She had a desire to be greater than who she was at that moment. She didn't know how it was going to happen, but she knew that she knew that she needed an escape out of the situation she was. She was just surviving from day-to-day but what she really wanted was to live and thrive. Not so different from many of us.
Maybe she had a big dream. Except she just didn't know how it was going to come to pass.
Her intention was granted. Not immediatly of course because she had to go through a process. Her fairy god-mother gave her a magical makeover but she still had to overcome her past identity and push herself forward. She had to show up at the ball, how else was the prince going to notice her?
And then the worst possible thing happened. She lost her beautiful glass slipper while dashing out of the castle, lest people and especially the prince realise who she really was. As brave as she was in showing up at the ball and dancing the evening away with the prince, there was a little girl inside of her who thought she really didn't belong there. She wanted to belong there, but she didn't believe it fully.
The glass slipper was her stepping stone to a better life.
It was literally the only way the prince had to recognise her. This was way before any kind of personal recognition system. It must have been magical because there was absolutely no other woman in the entire kingdom who could fit into it. And when they royal party came to her home to go through the tedious process of fitting the shoe on the foot of every woman in the household, Cinderella was ready. With all her insecurities and uncertain feelings, she was ready to step into a new life.
She married her prince and lived happily ever after which is my favourite line of the story. The story doesn't go further to tell us how they lived happily ever after. Perhaps like any married couple they had their share of disagreements and adjustments. Maybe she traveled around the world with her prince. Maybe they started some non-profit organisations. Who knows?
Of course I"m still a kid at heart! Very much the dreamer and the romantic. Eagerly waiting for that happy ending. And fairly tales are perfect for catering to that whim.
Or maybe it's just that fairly tales teach us about hope. The eternal battle between good and evil; with the good always winning. Somewhere in the midst of the story at the point of climax the story seems to hover in favour of the evil side, but then the tipping point comes When the hero or heroine realises that within them lies a greater giant than the one outside and it's only when they unleash their internal giant that they're able to conquer that external giant.
It's all about hope. One of my favourite fairly tales is Cinderella. What young girl could ask for more? It has all the elements of romance complete with a beautiful young girl, albeit mistreated, but then she ends up marrying the most eligible bachelor! The prince and the heir to the kingdom. But that's not the only reason why the story appeals to me.
It's also a story of transformation.
A young girl who is overlooked by her own family. Orphaned at a young age. Motherless. Penniless. She thought her father was her only ally, and he was until he re-married. A terrible fate for a young grieving girl. As if this wasn't bad enough the woman he married, and whom she was supposed to call 'mother' was everything a mother wasn't.
A mother comforts you and cradles you on her bosom when she sees you sad. A mother looks into your eyes and just knows how you feel. A mother kisses your hurt and makes it go away. A mother asks if you've eaten even if you tell her a hundred times that you have. A mother rushes to your side no matter where in the world you are, the moment she finds out if something is wrong.
Cinderella's stepmother was not her mother; not in the true sense of the word. But she really had no choice, it was either stay in the house and do what she said. or be tossed out of the house to fend for herself. She decided to stay and submit herself to the erratic demands of her stepmother and her stepsisters, not knowing that her next miracle was around the corner.
Not many of us are granted a fairy godmother but maybe the Universe was watching and saw her humility and service and decided to reward her. But even before the fairy godmother appeared there was something that Cinderella did. Something simple, but ever so powerful.
She set an intention.
Perhaps it was an intention born out of desperation, but it was a pure intention. She had a desire to be someone better, to have better, and to do better. She had a desire to be greater than who she was at that moment. She didn't know how it was going to happen, but she knew that she knew that she needed an escape out of the situation she was. She was just surviving from day-to-day but what she really wanted was to live and thrive. Not so different from many of us.
Maybe she had a big dream. Except she just didn't know how it was going to come to pass.
Her intention was granted. Not immediatly of course because she had to go through a process. Her fairy god-mother gave her a magical makeover but she still had to overcome her past identity and push herself forward. She had to show up at the ball, how else was the prince going to notice her?
And then the worst possible thing happened. She lost her beautiful glass slipper while dashing out of the castle, lest people and especially the prince realise who she really was. As brave as she was in showing up at the ball and dancing the evening away with the prince, there was a little girl inside of her who thought she really didn't belong there. She wanted to belong there, but she didn't believe it fully.
The glass slipper was her stepping stone to a better life.
It was literally the only way the prince had to recognise her. This was way before any kind of personal recognition system. It must have been magical because there was absolutely no other woman in the entire kingdom who could fit into it. And when they royal party came to her home to go through the tedious process of fitting the shoe on the foot of every woman in the household, Cinderella was ready. With all her insecurities and uncertain feelings, she was ready to step into a new life.
She married her prince and lived happily ever after which is my favourite line of the story. The story doesn't go further to tell us how they lived happily ever after. Perhaps like any married couple they had their share of disagreements and adjustments. Maybe she traveled around the world with her prince. Maybe they started some non-profit organisations. Who knows?
Fairy tales can teach us a lot of very simple lessons if we choose to open our eyes and hearts.
Cinderella had belief, courage and expectancy and she made it happen for herself, with just a little help from the Universe. She chose to believe in her dream of a better life, and she was aided by the Universe.
It's a very human story with a little magic thrown in. An unbeatable combination in my eyes.
No comments:
Post a Comment