It’s as much of once upon every time as it is has ever been once upon a time.
Power and ambition kill. Others first, ourselves finally.
Humility and selflessness kill. Ourselves first, evil and injustice finally.
Having just returned from Snow White and the Huntsman, I found myself reeling throughout the whole thing, and even still.
The first words were, of course, voiced over in thick accent…
“Once upon a time…”
But it is once upon this time. And once upon a time a year ago today. And once upon every time.
The storytellers have tried to make it clear for ages upon ages and times upon times,
But we have to learn it again for ourselves once upon our times, and sometimes more than once.
All that is in us tells us to fight with might to protect our own.
But fighting with might to protect our own,
fighting with educations, investments, gates, codes, doctrines, prejudices, words, wars,
fighting with might to protect our own leads to a slow unraveling.
But fighting that actually protects is a byproduct of other pursuits.
a byproduct of seeking the good of others,
of giving up on great ambitions,
of investing for the sake of the lives of others rather that for the protection of ourselves against others, of opening gates, sharing codes, listening to the doctrines of others,
knowing before judging,
listening,
serving,
fighting with humility and selflessness, not with great ambitions of winning,
but simply because we can’t imagine not fighting for whatever things are
true
good
just
lovely
honest
And then, in the end, of course, just as the story begins with once upon a time, it finishes with…
But alas, we have never been known, in life outside the tales spun by fairies, as patient enough to wait for the ever after.
As if we’ve ever had a choice.
djordan
Pine Tree
most hopeful 