Amanda's Blog: Emotional Abuse

Cinderella

 What can we learn from the story of Cinderella?

Last night I was reading bedtime stories to my 3 year old granddaughter and she brought me, Cinderella. Needless to say,  I hadn't read the story in a very long time.  While reading it so many of the words popped off the page like, "difficult life", "mean", manipulation, "dreams", "Prince Charming", "jealous",  "love", "dance"...just to name a few.  

Why did they strike such a chord in me?  As a little girl I think we all have dreams of marrying a Prince Charming and dancing the night away in glass slippers.  To many women the idea of a Prince Charming is just an illusion of the mind.  Like Cinderella we grow up with just the opposite life we "pretend played" with our little girlfriends.

Soon we are conditioned to this life of emotional or physical abuse and our dreams of dancing the night away with Prince Charming go by the way side.  Actually, all dreams are devoured by our present circumstances.

Through the manipulation of the mean stepsisters, friends came to Cinderella's rescue and helped make a way for her to get to the Ball.  They believed in her and in her future.  In the end, Cinderella knew that her circumstances could not define the woman she was created to be.

So what can we learn from Cinderella?

• We must not let our circumstances define who we are.  To be empowered we must feel  empowered.
• We must surround ourselves with friends that believe in us and love us unconditionally.  Jaq & Gus, two mice, knew exactly what Cinderella needed and went to her rescue.
• We must never give up on dreams. Cinderella knew that no one could stop her from dreaming.  They are our path to the future we are intended to live out.

 Remember, we all own a pair of glass slippers, we just have to pull them out of our apron pocket! 

Love, Believe, Dream...and never stop Dancing!

Amanda Graybill, Founder