Beyond Fairy-Tales

“And they lived happily ever after” is the phrase we adored more than anything else in our childhood. It was one of the most satisfying moments of the author’s storytelling. No matter it was my grandma telling me my favorite fairytale, or me reading a stressful novel where protagonist (Hero/Heroine) is always under the bus and is being crushed by the antagonist (Villain) as the story moved forward. I was always excited and impatient for the end of unfortunate events happening with main characters that I adored whether it is Cinderella, Harry Potter or any other wonderful character. I just wanted to skim through the text and read for hours just to rush towards happy ending. Even today when I am watching Netflix seasons I repeat the same drill of binge watching seasons just too finally witness the magnificent climax that writer has intelligently anchored in the story. No Doubt, you can relate to this impulsive behavior of mine. But do you think that the concept of happy ending or lived happily ever after is relevant in the real life?

Well, to the best of my knowledge and observation I don’t think so!!!

As much as I would love to explore these events unfolding in your and my life story it is usually not the case so. You can’t imagine how much satisfaction it would bring me to know about a real life Cinderella to be finally found by a prince charming that magically transforms her life and takes away her sorrows. Similarly, the joy of real life Harry winning every battle against evil Voldemort, serving justice to him, and taking his father’s revenge is simply inexpressible. In spite of that, I am not sure will I ever be able to discover that.

At the risk of sounding a pessimist, I want to express that these fairy tales don’t represent the wholeness of life. They simply lack the necessary elements to be generalized to whole humanity. The point is, everyone has unique story that they live during their lifetimes. And maturity is when you avoid making these fairy tales a standard to which destiny must comply. The magnificent concepts like “Law of Attraction” so broadly celebrated don’t have a small element of truth in them to be termed as Law. Even I have had faith in them during majority of my life. But, let me pose some innocent questions:

Is it that simple to achieve anything in life?

Can a lover just wish and fantasize his love for his beloved and universe will conspire to make it a reality?

Can an unfortunate poverty stricken orphan fantasize luxurious life and destiny will just bring it to him?

Can a sane person while his conscience is intact even fancy such a thing?

I don’t think so!

It is great being an optimist. But, think of a child who believes in this fairy tales nonsense comes across as he grows up and faces the brutal realities of life. What will be his reaction; will it not shatter them to know everything they religiously believed was a horrible lie?

Will they ever be able to be optimistic in life again?

I don’t think so!

Hence, I have a simple proposal to always make a disclaimer to your children that this is just a story and it is not necessary that it will have any real life relevance or implication. That even a right person on true moral stance can lose. And that it doesn’t matter if you win or lose as long as you are not compromising on your moral compass. Life is all about these small wins and losses that you will experience consistently as you go through life. That beauty is not all about fair skin, long hair, and big eyes there is always more to it. And being righteous is the ultimate beauty that one can have. And while there is nothing like happily ever after but if we exercise our super power of choosing and make consistent great choices our life can be filled with health, wealth, wisdom, happiness, and joy.