#159 Reimagining Fairy Tales: A New Perspective

What if fairy tales are wise, and filled with great nuggets of gold? We just have to shake them up a bit, see what's beneath the veneer, and then the stain, and the warped wood, and the rough grains, and ... then we might find some really fun stuff. 

Transcript

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Beauty didn't fall in love with a beast. She fell in love with a person. Rapunzel brushed and braided her hair for others, never considering her own freedom. The tortoise and the hare are friends. Why make them enemies? When the glass slipper breaks, make something useful. Three little pigs, three little styles. Who's to say which is best? Goldilocks looked for just right, then ran away when life showed up. Sell your voice to belong, and you'll never belong. Little Red Riding Hood knows that grandmother always knows best. Sleeping beauty should learn to spin, then weave herself a better story. Hansel and Gretel are lucky to have each other. The golden goose lays her egg when the nest has been made. The frog prince doesn't need you, a princess. He's enjoying himself. Snow White doesn't exist. There is no fairest of the land anywhere. Rumpel Stiltskin remembers the power of a name. The Pied Piper only played his tune after he'd been scorned by them all. The boy who cried wolf is lucky there wasn't social media around. The princess and her pee should stay in bed and not make such a fuss. The wishing well. What a reminder that life is rich with possibility. Pinocchio learned the only way he knew how by making mistakes. The bee, the harp, the mouse, and the bum clock remind us that sometimes laughter is the best medicine of all. At least these show him who he really is. Who wants a golden touch when dark chocolate is lying around? The woman with no shadow died on the doorstep of her own forgiveness. The red shoes never stop dancing and have long ago lost their luster. If you look, the ugly duckling is the story of us all. Peter and the wolf integrate the demon and the saint within each of us. The fir tree always listens to its true nature. The steadfast tin soldier knows that wholeness slumbers in our depths. East of the sun and west of the moon lies our wild soul, not our soulmate. Vasilisa knows that activity without reflection will only drain and weaken. Aladdin reminds us that random serendipity is a real thing. The tar baby is far too common and only enjoyable when someone else gets caught. But what is the cost? Baba Yaga is a badass, and I can't wait to grow up and become her. The handless maiden is sacrificed over and over until she has nothing left to lose. The little match girl has given away her attention, binging on media, ignorant of her own needs. Any decent princess bites her nails and cracks her lip. The Holy Grail asks but one question Whom do I serve? From the cinders of Cinderella, we remember that it's possible. Anything is possible.