What is a fairy tale? A dream? An adventure?
A princess, a predator, a savior.
Singing animals and mice that sew.
Have you lived a fairy tale? Who were you?
Did you dance and sing? Did you wear a princess dress?
Were you a little boy searching for treasure?
Did you walk in the woods? Did it get dark?
Did you trip and fall and rip your dress? Did you walk
into a cave and get lost?
Did someone come along and grab you in the dark?
Fairy tales are make-believe, unless you have lived
one.
The wolves are there. The wicked witch, evil queen,
and forest monsters are there.
They lie in wait or loom in plain sight. They attack.
But there is a promise of a savior! A shining knight,
a handsome prince, a genie, a fairy-godmother or a good sister. Surely, you
will be rescued.
Or you won’t.
Fairy tales are tales. They are fiction. They are false
narratives.
You are living in real life.
There may be parallels to fairy tales, but real life
is rarely so tidy. Real life doesn’t wrap up so neatly.
No more fairy tales.
When the fairy tale ends and is put aside, the beauty
and ugliness of reality becomes our truth.
Your truth. My truth. The truth.
Have you been relieved of your darkness? Have you seen
a promising ray of sunlight? Have you healed a bit? Do you remember how to
dance?
You don’t have to be your own hero. We’re in this
together. We share stories, ideas, hope, and our wounded bodies and souls.
We don’t expect someone to save us. Rather, we link
arms and hold one another as we go forward together.
For all those caring people who believe our stories, give
us encouragement, and a cup of tea, we say thank you.
We heal step by step. We have brand, new dreams and
they are the reality we live into each day.
No more fairy tales.
However, the possibilities of “happily-ever-after” are
endless. Really.
And happily-ever-after belongs to you and me. It will
not elude us. It is hard won, and worth our anticipation and expectation of
living in health and happiness. It’s certainly a process.
It’s not a fairy tale.
