In Sex and the City, Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw pondered: “What if Prince Charming had never showed up? Would Snow White have slept in that glass coffin forever? Or would she have eventually woken up, spit out the apple, gotten a job, a health-care package, and a baby from her local neighborhood sperm bank? I couldn't help but wonder: inside every confident, driven single woman, is there a delicate, fragile princess just waiting to be saved?”
A fairy tale usually begins with “Once upon a time ...” The characters of the story are then introduced where the hero or heroine, who represents goodness, interacts with the villain representing wickedness. The villain employs evil enchantment and the life of the hero is engulfed in misery and despair. At the peak of the hero's misfortune, something magical happens. Virtue overcomes vice. In the story of Snow White, Prince Charming comes to rescue Snow White, a damsel in distress, and they “lived happily ever after.”
But the story of Snow White is a fairy tale and Carrie wondered what if she can't have a fairy tale. Many people, not just women, wonder too, if tough times would magically go away just like in fairy tales. In real life, can we just lie there waiting to be rescued from our problems? What if no rescue comes? How can we have a happy ending in real life?
What if no Prince Charming is coming to rescue you from the difficult situation that you are facing? Carrie's question is not so much an apprehension that she might not be rescued by someone as it is a desire to take charge and take control of her life. She apparently refuses to surrender to the fantasies of a fairy tale. She even wondered “inside every confident, driven single woman, is there a delicate, fragile princess just waiting to be saved?”
Perhaps, in her mind, she sees futility in putting her life at the mercy of a Prince Charming who may never come. There could be a “happy ending” if she takes charge and takes control. Perhaps, to sleep “in that glass coffin forever” is not how she wants to live her life. And perhaps, many of us, you and I, do not like to wait forever for a rescue from without. What if we dare rescue ourselves? What can Snow White do in such hopeless state? Think back at how in managing your problems, at a hopeless state, something surprising unfolds or some idea dawns in your mind. Life is so resilient it works out some “magical” twists and turns. Mostly, it is up to us to take the opportunities that come our way. Sometimes, these opportunities are very visible, but at other times, they are camouflaged.
In the story Snow White, time passed until one day a traveling prince saw and fell in love with the comatose Snow White. It was not a kiss that woke Snow White up. With the dwarfs' permission, the prince's servants carried the coffin and while doing so, they stumbled on the road dislodging the piece of poisoned apple from Snow White's throat, awakening her. It was not the Prince that actually saved her. It was something about life that proclaims goodness in the world.
“What if Prince Charming had never showed up?” Perhaps, something else will happen that will dislodge the piece of poisoned apple from Snow White's throat – an earthquake, a squirrel tipping the coffin, or a dwarf shaking Snow White to rouse her. When Snow White wakes up, she won't be waiting for Prince Charming. She will probably plan, make her dream come true, and live happily ever after knowing that every problem has a solution, every mistake gives a lesson, and every difficulty unfolds an opportunity.
A fairy tale usually begins with “Once upon a time ...” The characters of the story are then introduced where the hero or heroine, who represents goodness, interacts with the villain representing wickedness. The villain employs evil enchantment and the life of the hero is engulfed in misery and despair. At the peak of the hero's misfortune, something magical happens. Virtue overcomes vice. In the story of Snow White, Prince Charming comes to rescue Snow White, a damsel in distress, and they “lived happily ever after.”
But the story of Snow White is a fairy tale and Carrie wondered what if she can't have a fairy tale. Many people, not just women, wonder too, if tough times would magically go away just like in fairy tales. In real life, can we just lie there waiting to be rescued from our problems? What if no rescue comes? How can we have a happy ending in real life?
What if no Prince Charming is coming to rescue you from the difficult situation that you are facing? Carrie's question is not so much an apprehension that she might not be rescued by someone as it is a desire to take charge and take control of her life. She apparently refuses to surrender to the fantasies of a fairy tale. She even wondered “inside every confident, driven single woman, is there a delicate, fragile princess just waiting to be saved?”
Perhaps, in her mind, she sees futility in putting her life at the mercy of a Prince Charming who may never come. There could be a “happy ending” if she takes charge and takes control. Perhaps, to sleep “in that glass coffin forever” is not how she wants to live her life. And perhaps, many of us, you and I, do not like to wait forever for a rescue from without. What if we dare rescue ourselves? What can Snow White do in such hopeless state? Think back at how in managing your problems, at a hopeless state, something surprising unfolds or some idea dawns in your mind. Life is so resilient it works out some “magical” twists and turns. Mostly, it is up to us to take the opportunities that come our way. Sometimes, these opportunities are very visible, but at other times, they are camouflaged.
In the story Snow White, time passed until one day a traveling prince saw and fell in love with the comatose Snow White. It was not a kiss that woke Snow White up. With the dwarfs' permission, the prince's servants carried the coffin and while doing so, they stumbled on the road dislodging the piece of poisoned apple from Snow White's throat, awakening her. It was not the Prince that actually saved her. It was something about life that proclaims goodness in the world.
“What if Prince Charming had never showed up?” Perhaps, something else will happen that will dislodge the piece of poisoned apple from Snow White's throat – an earthquake, a squirrel tipping the coffin, or a dwarf shaking Snow White to rouse her. When Snow White wakes up, she won't be waiting for Prince Charming. She will probably plan, make her dream come true, and live happily ever after knowing that every problem has a solution, every mistake gives a lesson, and every difficulty unfolds an opportunity.
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