Were you influenced by fairy tales as a kid? Did you, as a result of having heard a particular fairy tale, form expectations about what your life would be like in the real world? I don’t recall being read fairy tales except for Br’er Rabbit, the trickster who could talk his way out of anything. By brother loved that story as a kid so I had to hear it every fricken night. This post was going to be about “I never learned anything from fairy tales,” but maybe I did. It wasn’t the Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty and Handsome Prince stories that enraptured me and made me have expectations in the world. I grew up with 3 brothers, so I knew “the prince” story was a lie. The brothers were handsome and smooth but they weren’t princes. They were Br’er Rabbit, tricksters able to talk their way out of anything. I haven’t pondered it until now, but my entire professional career has been about words and spinning information to a particular advantage. Now, with Horizons Magazine, I spin to a hope to a faithful readership. During a 22 year career as a criminal defense paralegal, I had brilliant mentors in the trial attorneys I worked for. I learned different ways of presenting information to spin it to the advantage of the client.
As a journalist, I recognize the media spin in the news. Journalists, by definition, put info in their own words and make it creative in their own way so it will draw attention. My attention is drawn by the most hopeful “what if?” My attention is drawn by demonstrations of unwavering faith in the face of adversity. I choose to focus on what’s right with the world and what’s bringing joy to whom. Those are the ideas and events I want to promote and I do so by looking for it and keeping my focus there. I know if I can draw enough attention to a particular thoughtform, that thoughtform becomes strengthened and takes on a life of its own.
So does that work for fairy tales? I’m interested in hearing your own experience with a particular fairy tale. As I read the list here, I see a few more I’ve learned from: Beauty and the Beast, Boy Who Cried Wolf, Emperor’s New Clothes, Tortoise and the Hare, Ugly Duckling. I’ll write on them later. Let me know your experience.
Aladdin
Beauty and the Beast
Boy Who Cried Wolf
Br’er Rabbit
Emperor’s New Clothes
Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
Goose That Laid The Golden Egg
Jack and the Beanstalk
Peter and the Wolf
Pinocchio
Princess and the Pea
Puss in Boots
Rapunzel
Red Riding Hood
The Red Shoes
Rumpelstiltskin
Sinbad the Sailor
Sleeping Beauty
Snow White
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Three Little Pigs
Thumbelina
Tom Thumb
Tortoise and the Hare
Ugly Duckling