- Life is not easy and even unfair, and things get thrown at you that you don't always deserve. Not a single one of the characters in our stories ever got it easy. They had some tough things they had to deal with.
- In the face of hardship, you still have some control with your behavior. In the face of adversity, you still have some control over your response. Sometimes it will require strength and courage, but it's still in your power.
- Your choices have consequences. Fairy tales can be quite simple in its explanation of this example. The good get their reward. The bad get punished. We all know that it's not always that simple, but no matter what the choices you make will eventually lead you down those roads, even if it takes years or a lifetime.
- The power is within you to overcome. Let's be honest. There are some terribly evil and dark things that many of these characters experience, several to the point of the extreme, but one of the reasons fairy tales are beloved is that these characters in whatever form they were capable of faced these trials, pressed on, and became triumphant in the end.
- Adversity can lead to something better. Difficult things happen, and many times it isn't completely in your control. A sudden change of circumstances where your happiness was tossed in the storms of outside winds to turn it into something dark and lonely is difficult. Most if not all people go through this at least once in their lives. It's difficult to see in the moment, but as dark as it seems there is always a hope, and that moment may be the opportunity you need to take that path to a direction of more happiness than you realized was possible.
- There is a happily ever after. Choices have consequences. As the old saying goes, "We sow what we reap." Sometimes it takes years to obtain. Perhaps it only takes a matter of changing perspective and focus in order to see it, but a form of happily ever after does exist. It doesn't come free from hardship and often times endurance. No matter what life throws at you, that hope is still there. It may not show up in the form you expect, but it's there nevertheless.
So are fairy tales just fun children's stories? No. We could all learn from them.
*This post dedicated to all of the CMs who have recently lost their jobs at the Disney parks and related areas due to the pandemic. I haven't met very many of them, but I was seriously saddened to hear about it, because I know how much that meant to them. Having been through a similar thing myself, I know how heartbreaking it is. I stick to the inspiration I received on my last visit to Disneyland. You are loved. Don't forget that whatever difficulties you face at this time.
**See this blog post about the positive influences Disney Princesses had on me while growing up: https://www.quietlifeobservations.com/2019/02/10-positive-things-i-learned-from.html
***See these blog posts written as a result of an impression I received at my last visit in Disneyland. It appears more significant to me now than ever I experienced that:
https://www.quietlifeobservations.com/2019/12/the-enlightenment.html (Written account)
