Of Heroes and Princesses

It seems that in every culture, including our own, we raise our young on tales of heroes and princesses: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, Superman, and the like, are stories that are ingrained into our cultural lore.  The themes of heroes and princesses drive the entertainment industry today, arguably, one of the most powerful influences of our time.  Indeed, the stories we tell of ourselves, and the heroes and heroines that we aspire to emulate, become part of our perceptual identity and become ingrained into the roles we attempt to play in our lives.

Have you ever wondered where these themes came from and why they resonate so powerfully with each of us?  What little girl doesn't want to be a princess in disguise?  What young boy doesn't yearn to secretly be an all powerful hero and to defeat an evil villain?  Have you ever wondered why we have these recurring themes among mankind's storytelling, and do you wonder if these tales build us up with seemingly unattainable aspirations?

Holding these stories up to my own life experiences, I believe that we possess innately, a belief of greatness within us.  What young child does not esteem themselves to be of great worth?  We come into this world and are treated as such as infants and young children.  Mothers and fathers, grandparents and siblings, put us at the center of their worlds.  We learn to expect to inspire love and devotion, and to expect to win respect and admiration from our world, because we are literally, at the center of it.  Our cultural tales reinforce and reflect these views.  We build our lives, and our relationships, around the attainment of these positions.   To my husband, I must be the long sought for princess; to me, my husband must fill the role of hero, and protect and  defend me and my children from harm or evil.

Are these views realistic? For, I believe, they are real.  Emotionally, I believe, that these roles demand to be filled, and that they spin off many interesting results as we see examples of both successes and failures in peoples' attempts to achieve such idealism.

Theologically, the parallels between gospel concepts and cultural tales are striking. If we believe, as taught by scripture, that God, our Father, is the all powerful king and creator of all that is; then it is not so far fetched to believe that we are each princesses and heroes.  We would, in fact, expect to gain our happily ever after ending through demonstration of goodness and worthiness, and in doing so, will in fact expect to defeat overwhelming forces of evil by weilding previously unseen and unknown powers.  Is this not the story embedded in the theology that we espouse?

Here's to amazing endings. . .