Fairy Tales and A Child's World

I used to believe that the world of fairy tales was just that: a world of fairy tales. A plane of existence where anything is possible as long as you dreamed hard enough.

Not so.

The world of fairy tales is a very true place. I'm not writing, today, about dragons and monsters and unicorns. No, not today. Today, I write about the part of the world where all you have to do is believe and your dreams will come true. I believe this wholeheartedly... modified. What I believe can almost be contained in a couple of quotes.

"When the 'why' is strong enough, the 'how' will present itself."

"Faith without action is dead."


I really should have reversed those, but everything happens for a reason...
Anyway, you have to decide what you want to do and where you want to be. Decide it with your whole heart/soul/being. When you do this, you will immediately work towards making this dream a reality. This is how it breaks down:

I'm borrowing some of this imagery from a class I've been in for the past six weeks.
When you decide something to the earlier-described depth, you almost live a waking dream. Close your eyes and see yourself where you want to be. You see yourself doing/being something/someone at the end of the road. Someone who is in a better place than you are now. When you open your eyes and see where you are, you realize that you really aren't where you want to be. Where you saw yourself a moment ago. Like when you wake up from a good dream and rush to fall back asleep so that you can finish it, but either the dream changes or you can't fall back asleep. That moment where all you desire is to finish your dream is the feeling I'm talking about. You decide to do something about the difference between the "dream" and "reality." You figure out what needs to change and do everything within your power to change it. Like the mother who's child is trapped under a vehicle.

Back to my original illustration. Now, when you "wake up," you feel that need to change what you can to be where you want to be. This includes anything that translates to spending more time in a project to improve the finished product. Job hunt. Study. Practice. Paint. Flip burgers. Anything. Let me say this again. Anything. Any conventional and/or unconventional means. Any. Thing.

The next part speaks to what comes after the "why" and "how." Now, you have two of the three necessary parts of the equation. After you figure out where you want to be and how you're going to get there, all that's left is for you to do it. You've got the map. Follow it. No matter what. Stay on course, and move forward at full speed slowing down only to pick up those who see you and want to join you on your journey and to gently let go of those who have completed their role on your course. This is a nod to the fact that I believe that others should be treated with kindness according to what each individual truly needs.

This is the common thread. The prince sees the damsel in the tower, but a dragon is in the way. What does he do? Risks his life to save her. I don't think you get this.

Risks.
His.
Life.


He puts everything on the line. His pride, body, soul, reputation, family, everything. He utilizes all of his resources to end this "glorious battle" in his favour. Do you want to know what makes this battle so glorious? It's the passion. He fights with everything he has, stopping at nothing until the obstacle is removed from his path. Everything. You know, like when a musician becomes his music, or when a child really gets into his game. The same thing. That expression that makes you smile and gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling on the inside.

Now for the truth at the end of the story.

When you move towards your goal as the protagonist in a story, you will reach it.


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I like the two-part feeling, so I'm going with it again.
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When a child experiences what it understands to be a great loss, you see it and have pity. You understand that Mr. Fuzzles (whatever it may be) really, in the grand scheme of things isn't that important. You understand that Mr. Fuzzles was an impulse buy at a flea market and that your or your spouse's joblessness/health/whatever is way more important.

What you may fail to realize, though, is that the child's world is much smaller than yours. Whereas you have been all over the terrestrial world, the child's world consists of daycare, the store and home. In his world, there are only a few things, all of which will be noticed at some point and (as far as he is concerned) irreplaceable.

Mr. Fuzzles : the child :: [the most important part of your life] : you

You can take this concept and apply it to anyone who is less experienced than you in anything. It could be a new hire or someone less fluent in a certain language than you. Try it. I'm certain that you'll at least think something close to "It's not a big deal" at least once.

Now, remember that you are more experienced than the other person. Let's take this a step further. Know that there is someone better than you at many things. If you find that you have a problem with something and you seek help, whoever helps you knows that there are bigger problems, but right now, this is the biggest thing in your world.

We naturally do what we can to overcome problems and get better at dealing with them.

"Life doesn't get easier; we just get better at it."

As we get better, we climb the ladder. As we climb the ladder, we either help others do the same or cut our legs out from underneath ourselves by removing those that aren't at least at our level. [I prefer the first of these... Hence this blog...] Which road are you on. Choose wisely because the greater the building, the stronger the foundation needs to be.