Life as a Fairy Tale: seeing past illusions, overcoming our fears and making our dreams come true!
“To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence.”
~ Schopenhauer
Most readers of fairy tales will agree: without a quest or challenge, there wouldn’t be much of a story. If we just rolled from one passive day to the next without any input from the dark side, we would quickly languish into states of irrevocable apathy. But do not fear, there is no such thing as sustained bliss; the road of life is filled with potholes and puddles, ready to shake us out of contentment without notice. Just when you think you’re riding smoothly along, you suddenly get thrown off your horse. We’ve all felt the stings of those falls. And usually after dusting off from the blow, we climb right back in that saddle and continue through passageways of uncertainty. We have our survival instincts to thank for that, but we also have our intractable human spirit that has the ability to thrive under challenging circumstances. Still, despite our ability to endure great tests of will, sometimes we can be lead astray by potential defeat or simply lose focus along the way. This can amplify fear, the true monster lurking in the forest ready to swallow up dreams; and it reminds me of one of the articles we must recite in nearly every Taekwondo class:
“Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the strength to overcome our fears.”
(photos from Lisa's black belt tes)
This is an important ingredient of any hero’s successful ride through hazardous terrain. Courage is the enabler of great feats! If we don’t let that fear monster overwhelm us, we’ll be okay.
Fairy tales serve a multi-tiered function. Not only are they entertaining narratives, but they are reassuring stories that serve to instill hope and possibilities in the face of extraordinary challenges. During the times these tales were told, people were imprisoned in caste systems, faced starvation, were reliant on the movement of the stars and the mercy of mother nature, and subject to all manner of day to day (and often life threatening) difficulties. This is the human condition and it still persists today. Therefore, we still need fairy tales! But under the shadows of stress and sadness awaits the resilient human spirit. Many big achievers rose from the ashes of a distilled society, where illusionary barriers were erected before unreachable glass ceilings. But it did not matter, the perspicacious hero remained transfixed by the possibility of reaching for his/her shining star, undaunted by the risks that would be an inevitable part of the courageous ride.
We can see a wonderful example of this in recent history. During the 2008 presidential season, former President Bill Clinton made a comment during Barack Obama’s quick ascendancy through the primaries: “This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I’ve seen.” From my perspective, I thought that remark was a vote of confidence for then Senator Obama. We all know what happens in fairy tales! And we all know how the primaries ended! The unlikely hero conquers alleged insurmountable passes, confronts all manner of obstacles, trials and monsters along the way before finally embracing sweet victory. President-Elect Barack Obama traveled the classic hero’s journey from poverty and social uncertainty, through a primary rife with naysayers before becoming the much-celebrated future leader of the free world.
Fairy tales provide roadmaps for our dreams providing timeless messages that still resonate with us today. They expose the triumphant spirit and the possibilities that lie within everyone’s grasp no matter how unrealistic those dreams may seem.
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Dragons, monsters and beasts have always kept me company in my ever-active studio space (and I’m not only talking about my two rambunctious children). The Polish fairy tale Glass Mountain as 7 of Cups, one of my favorite tarot cards symbolically-speaking, provides a wonderful example of difficult climbs navigated by courage and determination. After several attempts by those that failed before him, the hero scales the glass mountain in hopes of a victorious outcome. He encounters all manner of unsavory situations including a ravenous giant bird, the smell of decaying bodies, and a fierce dragon who blocks his entryway to the castle. . .there sat an imposing, smoking dragon eyeing him hungrily. He blocked the path with its mighty tail and looked as though he intended to put an end to the brazen journeyer. The dragon is there to test the youth—it is an illusion and represents obstacles that prevent us from reaching our goals. But the story has a happy ending. The hero exercises courage, passes the test and a big celebration ensues.
If you can visualize your dreams, you have already given yourself the basic tools for turning those dreams into reality. Most of my own accomplishments started as pipe dreams: becoming a professional artist and writer (“starving artist” was part of that equation), getting my Masters degree in 18 months while juggling a full-time life, earning a Black Belt in Submission Taekwondo at almost 42 years of age (refer to my last blog entry) and many other challenging undertakings that required an unwavering belief and a strong sense of determination. These may seem like small feats to some people, but for me, they represent something profound and sacred—they’re part of my own hero’s journey driven by hopes, dreams and courage.
~ Lisa
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