Draft II
Each day, as I walk through my own spiritual journey, I am given the chance to explore life’s maze and open doors to new possible opportunities. Some hallways are bright, and I skip along through them with ease and gratitude. Other hallways, however, are dark. Like Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Zeely, and Lyra, I am given the opportunity to choose. I can believe the “evil.” Or I can rise above the problem with my head held high. I can take steps with courage, meet others along the way with compassion, explore new paths with curiosity, and eventually run again with joy-filled freedom.
This type of spiritual journey in which I tear down walls of temptation with ease seems quite simple. In reality, it is much more complex. As I journey through the dark hallways, I fall into self-pity and doubt. I wonder, with second-thoughts, “why do I have to live in this very time, at this very place?” Or “what is the point to life?” Or “why do bad things happen to good people?” Not only am I beginning to realize that I can never know the answers to these questions, but I am also realizing that these questions hinder my growth.
Did Little Red Riding Hood have second thoughts on why her grandmother did not appear the same as normal? She rather had a pure heart and thought freely with curiosity. With this mental, spiritual bubble around she was protected by the force of good. She came out of the wolf’s stomach with strength. Did Snow White have second thoughts on why the jealous queen was after her? She rather skipped along through the scary woods and met the dwarves with compassion. She too, because of her mental, spiritual bubble woke up from the evil dream with strength. Did Zeely have second thoughts as to why she had to work with the smelly hogs? She rather walked with her head held high, with courage, leading people to believe her to be a queen. Zeely too gains strength from her adversity. Did Lyra have second thoughts as to why she had to have such a heavy burden of travelling through worlds and fighting the authorities? She rather ran with curiosity and hope, learning the spiritual message with certainty.
As I traverse through this journey, I more firmly believe that every one originates from a life force that consists of inherently good qualities. If we are born with these inherently good qualities, what causes my regression into bad habits and poor qualities of thoughts? An authoritative man-made force is what hinders my ability to grow into my inherently good adult self. After I recognize that massive hierarchical powers can make the process of growing up challenging, I need to be able to realize that the I need to be able to discount these powers. These big, corruptive authorities, whether it is the government, the church, or the fundamentalist views on science seem to try to prevent my growing up. But no, these authorities come from a man-made force. They do not come from good.
Thus the problem does not lie in the authorities. The problem lies in one’s way of thinking. Little Red Riding Hood did not let the unsatisfied wolf govern her. Snow White did not allow the jealous queen to govern her. Zeely did not allow others’ prejudices about her and her father govern her. Lyra did not allow the force of evil to govern her. Each of these characters governed their own thoughts with courage. Each of these four girls have a spiritual bubble that surrounds them and allows for their growth.
A few months ago, I had to enter the hospital due to stress-related issues. I had been allowing the hierarchical powers to govern my ways of thinking. Like these four characters, however, I discounted the evil, and I changed my way of thinking. I ran through the dark hallways by discounting the evil temptations. I entered brighter hallways with freedom. I gained strength along the way. With my own spiritual bubble, the erroneous evil was not able to destroy me.
In Little Red Riding Hood’s story, Snow White’s story, Zeely’s story, and Lyra’s story, authority figures attempt to kill the characters. The tempters hope to cause the beautiful characters’ strong, innate goodness to wither away. Although there seems to be a battle between good and evil, the characters continue to live and the force of good wins overall. Each character has their spiritual bubble surrounding them and protecting them. They are able to escape from the harm that the tempter wants her to experience. Perhaps because life is all mental, and the characters’ mental attitudes are aligned with the good, the character is able to survive through the evil attempts.
In the Brothers Grimm’s version of Little Red Riding Hood, the evil wolf gobbles up the sweet and innocent girl who has a pure mind. The wolf thinks he has succeeded in his goal of putting forth evil. He does not do so however. There is a good force underlying the erroneous evil that causes the huntsman to check out the situation. The brave huntsman is able to recognize that something is not right and he cuts the wolf’s stomach open, saving pure minded girl. Having made a mistake in believing the lie, Little Red Riding Hood is able to come out from the dark with more wisdom. She learns a deeper spiritual lesson from the “harm” that the wolf attempts to create. She learns that the evil force is an erroneous lie.
Snow White, like Little Red Riding Hood, is a “sweet and ignorant” young girl at the beginning of the story. Without her knowing, she is also beautifully unassuming and filled with humility (75, Maria Tatar). These qualities allow her to see the good in every one despite their outside appearances. These qualities also allow for the wise men to protect her from the mistakes she makes due to her beautiful meekness. She is able to live lovingly with the good-natured seven dwarves whom some people would not want to go near. She also, however, loves the evil witch who attempts to tempt her into her believing in the erroneously evil dream set upon her. Some may argue that because the disguised and authoritative queen succeeds in tricking Snow White, she is too “passive” (75, Tatar).
Perhaps this is not the case, however. Snow White, instead, has been protected in the light of the wise, good-natured seven dwarves the entire time. Because of her so-called “weak” characteristics, the wise, understanding dwarves are able to help Snow White step up, learn from her mistakes and gain wisdom.
Not only does Snow White gain more wisdom, but she comes out from her “crystal casket” and protective bubble as “beautiful as a goddess” (81, Giambattista Basile). She is able to outshine the evil authority because of the great spiritual qualities that she has gained. She is also able to share her story of “hardships” so that she can inspire others (82, Basile).
The character Zeely, who “walks tall” and “runs free,” has a spiritual bubble around her that allows her to escape the authority that causes the prejudices of skin color and the hard work of with the hogs. She is able to present herself as a “queen” because of the mental attitude she sets forth. This mental attitude both guards her and attracts her to other. As Geeder explains, Zeely is “relaxed and serene” as if she is so content with present moment. This mental bubble protects her from the “folks talk[ing] about her behind her back” (120). It also attracts her to people like Geeder. Towards the end Zeely begins to soften, with a smile, and free herself from her imaginative state as a “queen.” As Zeely brightens with liveliness, she is able to help reassure Geeder’s next stage of “growing up.”
Like the others, Lyra is held under a “spell” and she is in danger from the Church (140). It seems as though she as being hindered from her growth. As she sleeps, however, her true nature glistens. She gives off an air of gentleness and mildness. When she begins to awaken, she realizes that the spell is only a bad dream. A mental bubble has been protecting her the whole time so that she can learn and grow as she enters into adolescence. She begins to understand the “many layers’ of life with clarity and understanding (326). She also begins to see the unifying beauty of nature. She recognizes that “somewhere in the garden a nightingale was singing” and “all the different bells of the city” were “chiming” (518). She begins to think more freely through her actions, and she is not held down by the authority figures. She begins to live in the present, with certainty more towards the end.
The ages between 19 and 25 are the last few years for one’s development. As I continue to grow and develop this semester, I hope to take what I have learned from these stories in my personal journey through the dark hallways. I hope to learn from past mistakes that I have made. I hope to change my poor habits of thought. I hope to live in the present and be grateful for the simplest things. I hope to stop worrying about whether I should go down “this” hallway or “that” hallway. Rather by my living in the present, I hope to run freely and allow for the right decisions to me made naturally.
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I like how you are incorporating the Fairy Tales!
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The metaphors of light and dark hallways resonate with me. Do you see life as a series of hallways — and can you flip on the switch in dark hallways, or do they stay dark and you must find the light ones?
Are you alone in the hallway?
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I’d love to learn more about how your interact with these powers in your own life… who/what are they? Do they go away? Do you face or avoid them, or learn to live side by side with them? And what is “growing up”?
Just food for thought! See, you’re really sparking my own brain to question these things!
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Why does the problem not lie in these authorities? In my mind, the previous paragraph says these problems come from the authorities. Maybe it is just my reading of it but it is unclear how you reach this conclusion to me
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The most powerful points of your reflections come when you talk about yourself. I really connected with this paragraph. I think that details really relate to the audience…. I’d love to learn more about you through a few more specific reflections interspersed through your paper.
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You’ve done a lot of great analysis of the books we’ve read…. I want to know more about you though!
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Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts and sentiments, Margaret. I really appreciate you trusting us with your insights. I like how you talk about your growth for this semester… I’m so glad we get to experience your growth alongside you!
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This is a good paper, and you offer good analysis of the works that we have read. But I just don’t feel like I read YOU in this. You raise some concepts and ideas, these “hierarchical powers”, but they just don’t seem real to me, and I think that is because I don’t truly see how they’ve affected you. I just don’t see enough personal detail to make your ideas real, to make them resonate with me. I think if you took your general ideas and fleshed them out with personal, detailed stories it would be much better, because you have some ideas that provoke discussion and thought but it must be started by you.
Let me know if you have any questions.
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