I had mentioned to a very intelligent, thoughtful, courageous woman I have the honor of knowing & have become friends with, that I've spent much of my life feeling like Cinderella. I mentioned that lately I've been blessed, incredibly blessed, with some good fortune. Instead of enjoying however, I seem to go into panic mode, stressed that I will do something wrong & it will disappear. I likened this to Cinderella, instead of gladly wearing the glass slippers to the ball I seem to want to put them in bubble wrap to keep them safe. Unfortunately, that would mean nothing in my life would change & much change is needed.
My friend of super-hero proportions in heart & spirit & actions & intellect responded eloquently, as usual. She provided a very nice point of view & theory of her own on the rags to riches Disney princess. The following is quoting her, with her granted permission: "I once thought this story was about finding Prince charming who would then whisk you away from all your troubles & live happily ever after. But for some reason tonight I feel differently. You know I think once Cinderella believed in herself, she no longer felt comfortable in her limited / love-less world. She stood up to everyone & claimed what was rightfully hers. She and her prince get together & decide to live happily ever after." Further more, my friend, with a background in Social Work, advised me: "We could learn a lot from her. So "Cinderella" throw that bubble wrap away & claim what is yours & enjoy it!!!! We really don't know what tomorrow will bring...but we know about today & we deserve & need to enjoy this moment fully!!! Now of course I am not advocating for selfishness & greed we are much more evolved than this. we deserve to be happy & to share this with everyone we encounter. Please try to fight your worries they are so limiting...you deserve so much more & you know...so do I." Thank you Lisa L. in New York, you are now like the Fairy God Mother in the story. You did not make magic that was not there, you transformed the way I see what is already in front of me. Thank you so very much for the fairy-tale - reality check!
In my youth I spent many wasted hours looking for knights in shining armour. I made several bad choices in the male-companion department. Some men want only to be knights & once a damsel is no longer in distress they set off to rescue another. When I was particularly fond of a knight this feeling led me to cultivating harmful &/or dangerous behavior to once again qualify for D.I.D. (damsel in distress) status.
Once saved, the illusion of what awaited on the other side of the rescue met the harsh reality of something vastly different. Constantly having to reaffirm & reassure someone of their self-worth grows rapidly tiresome. So, as if a school yard game, the cycle then would continue to repeat with new players.
All of this theorizing brings me to think about Snow White. Now no-one should need a magic mirror to tell them they are beautiful - ideally we need to see the beauty within ourselves to better enable it to reflect out to others. But honey, let me tell you, there are plenty of days I'd pay good money for that sort of little mood booster! Not only is one of the Golden Rules "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" but more importantly, I remember hearing somewhere along the way in life this wonderful tidbit that I've made part of each day: "You should always be able to find something nice to say about everyone". Not only does looking for beauty in others give you a great outlook on life but it also spreads that positive outlook to others. More often than not a compliment once received is similarly often returned to the giver &/or others. Then we get the pebble in the pond ripple effect. So, to finally get back on track, my belief is that if Maleficent would have spent more time trying to see the beauty in others, not just herself, maybe some hidden beauty within herself would have appeared visibly for all without threats of violence or cruel demise if not stated. I suppose the dwarfs symbolize "little people" - not in height stature, but in social classification. These people of "lesser importance in the social class system" actually demonstrated the best work ethic & positive spirit. They instinctively saw Snow White's kindness & beauty as she saw theirs. I always say animals & children never lie as far as their feelings about people, Snow White was a friend of the forest animals, further proving her genuine goodness.
Thank you Walt Disney productions for giving us so much food for thought / princess introspection! Be Blessed Dear Readers, find your inner princess & spread the beauty!
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