Today we have a world is filled with technology and most things taught are based in facts, things that can be proven. A world where we are supposed to believe in only those things that can be scientifically or technologically proven. So what about the magical realm? Is it real? Does magic really exist? A thought to ponder...hmmm. My choice is to believe in all possibilities. Faith teaches me to believe in things I cannot see or touch . With this in mind, Magic gives flight to the imagination and possibilities of things we cannot see without a little faith..
There was such an uproar when Harry Potter first emerged. "They were tainting the minds of the youth by introducing them to a school where magic was taught. It is evil!" How ridiculous is that. Was it any different than the Wizard of Oz, ? I mean really a house is swooped up by a twister and "magically" transported to a world of numerous witches,a wizard, a talking scarecrow who needed a brain, a tin man who needed a heart and a lion that was afraid of his own shadow. Ultimately it was a storyline about good and evil and being true to yourself. It was about learning to think for yourself, to have compassion and to not be afraid, to have courage. Sound familiar, sounds alot like Harry to me. What about the weekly series we all watched as kids with our parents like "I Dream of Jeanie", Bewitched" or the "Twilight Zone" were they sinister as well?
My Take on Harry is basically this. He is a struggling youth put in an impossible living environment that makes a choice to pursue his dreams and accentuate what he has rather that what he doesn't have. He is constantly boarded with choices that ultimately showcase right/wrong, good vs evil. All kids face tough choices as they grow from adolesence through their teen-age years. Ultimately it will be them that have to make these descisions between right and wrong.
Since the beginning of time there has been a struggle between good and evil. It is important to teach children about choices and that there are consequences to every choice we make. For every action there will be a reaction.
I choose to believe and to teach my children and grandchildren the power of the imagination. What are the legends behind the myths...Faeries & Leprechauns, these are only a small portion of the magical realm of imagination.
First lets look closer into this realm. Close your eyes , open your imagination and see.......
In The Faery Realm, there are many creatures including faeries, gnomes, brownies, sprites, and the mischievous leprechauns. Hollywood has given life to many of the legends of the magical realm. Let's examine just a few. One of my favorite movies is "The Magical Legend of Leprechauns". It is an enchanting tale that includes a faery princess that falls in love with a leprechaun and this causes mayhem in the magical world which in turn affects the human realm as they co-exist. The feuding between these very different creatures causes a shift in natures balance and they must learn together how to accept each other's differences and with the help of humans restore the balance to mother nature. Hmmm seems like a pretty important lesson to learn.
Let's see another, "Labyrinth". This a story about a young girl who is enthralled with the fantasy world but disillusioned with her real life. Mainly with her new family including a step mother and new baby brother. She is resentful of the new addition and even calls to the "Goblin King " to take him away. However when he does she quickly realizes how much her little brother means to her. She must work her way through the Labyrinth to the Kings castle in order to save her brother. All through the maze as things go wrong she continually says"It's not fair!" Then she realizes sometimes things are not fair in life but you persevere and go on. When she realizes the only power the Goblin King has over her is the power she gives him. It is her choices that she is responsible for and her choices can also effect those around her. It is then she is able to bring her brother home all before her parents realize that he had been missing. Another good lesson...Life isn't always fair..but how we handle the trials in life is what affects the quality of the life we live.
With the growing age of technolocial advances and the "improved quality of life" we are rapidly losing the our ability to imagine and to dream. What has happened to make-believe? The tooth faery, Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and Halloween ( a whole new topic coming soon) are all becoming casualties of "growing up" and being "realistic". I for one choose to remain a child at heart and will continue to inspire children as well as adults that while structure , education & discipline are essentail in today's world it is ok to endulge in their imaginative nature as well.
Next topic....Vampires and Werewolves..were do they fit?....
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