“Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it.” – from the movie Brave

Children’s animated movies are the fairy tales of the modern age. Instead of sitting around a fire, we sit in a darkened movie theatre and listen to the stories of the soul’s journey. This is a place where the shadowy underworld still has a home. These stories point out what we can no longer ignore, our blind spots, weaknesses, and deepest fears. They force us to look at the darker aspects of our nature, and the deeper issues we need to face. This little quote actually tells it all. That all of it, the stories, journeys, adventures, and lessons live within us. We are the screen upon which the inner drama plays out, and the solution to what plagues us rests in having the courage to be able to see the truth that’s buried within.

The scary thing is we have to wrestle with the big questions daily. Some days will be easier than others, but in the end it’s only by facing the fate we hide from that allows us to live more fully. Whether we know it or not we’re on a quest to wake up to the truth of the deeper mysteries that surround us. Where we run into trouble is when we can’t recognize the situation we’re in for what it is. That’s why life, just like fairy tales, takes us on a long and difficult journey, it helps to break down our ordinary patterns of thinking. All the seemingly bad things that happen along the way end up making us more flexible by throwing our routine thinking off balance. When we’re preoccupied with the unfamiliar, our guard is lowered, allowing us to see new connections. That’s when the light finally dawns and we can see things as they are, not what we wish they were.

Really the journey is a metaphor for our interior search. When we look to see why we are stuck in certain patterns of living that hold us hostage or make us miserable, it’s the beginning of being open to another way of being. We start to listen to what’s been unsaid, maybe for generations, and it’s right there that the starting point for transformation is born. It’s our regular day to day journey that starts the unravelling of the mystery of who we are. The difference between our journey and the fairy tale is that ours is cyclical and overlapping. Everything mysteriously connects together, so if we pull at one thread we’ll end up tugging at all the others. But we do have to pick a thread, we have to be brave enough to create our own beginning. This inner journey is really an initiation that turns our small thinking into deeper understanding.

As for the happily ever after, spoiler alert, there is no happily ever after. Happily ever after is a cop out, a substitute for living. We remain children in the happily ever after, never having to make the tough decisions, never feeling the wounds of life. Life is complicated and messy, and we are asked to fully participate. By thinking we have everything figured out we miss the real journey life has in store for us. We have to be brave enough to risk everything we are to in order to become more of our authentic self. That’s the real happy ending, being in a genuine relationship with ourselves and life. A relationship that makes us feel whole and joyful, no matter what else is going on. And it requires our courage all the way through. It may not be what the fairy tales promised but there is certainly a full, rich, multidimensional life that brings joy and a peace that surprises us with its depth.

So here’s to stepping out of the children’s fairy tale and welcoming in experiences that have the power to change our fate.

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