Monday, November 28, 2011

The REAL Fairytale

The band begins to play.

"Shall we?" he says as he offers her his hand.

She gently places hers in his.

He leads her to the dance floor.

The budding of unspoken love is palpable as the song continues, and they dance on.

One can almost feel the hearts racing with the surprise of the discovery

as the room seems to swirl around them and then slowly fade away.

And there, in that moment,

That beautiful moment when he looks into her eyes and softly, so that only she can hear, he sings,










As he pulls her close to his heart.






{SIGH}
Okay. I will admit it.
I am a hopeless romantic. Pretty much to the core.
And I make no apologies for that.
NOT. ONE.

I have watched Enchanted more times than I can count, much to my husband's chagrin at times, and yet there are scenes that have yet to NOT make me want to laugh or sing or dance or even cry. My emotions are provoked every time.

I sat today wondering why that is.
Why THIS movie?
With all the beautifully written love stories out there {many of which I also love and adore}, why does this fanciful tale inspire & delight my senses time and time again?

And then I realized.


She doesn't choose the prince.


She doesn't pick the "Happily Ever After," according to the story books, that is.

She had a taste of REAL life, with all of its frailties and woes, and she said YES to that.


YES to the imperfections.
YES to the daily grind of working at love.
YES to the knowledge that I would rather TRY HARD with you,
then REST EASY with anyone else.


Gizelle was not simply in love with the idea of love.
The fantasy that her mind told her was reality.


She changed.


She was transformed beyond imagination and beyond make-believe into a world that was far beyond what her dream could have conjured.

And is that not the essence and beauty of true love?

That moment when you realize that love is more than just a feeling, a crescendo in a song, a one-liner that changes everything.

True love is giving up one's culture for the sake of his love.
True love is showing grace when the object of his affection has none to give.
True love is believing the best even when despair seems imminent.
True love is wading through the hard, icky, stuff that threatens to drown you both.
True love is knowing....this IS not the end....that happily ever after is a choice -- a beautiful, gut-wrenching, powerful, knock-your-socks-off, toe-curling, rest-of-your-life choice.
True love is saying, "It's you-and-me, Baby!" until it becomes so real you cannot help but believe it because the love has become a part of you.




“Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse.

'It's a thing that happens to you.

When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with,

but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'





Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.



Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful.

'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.'



Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'



It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.



But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”



― Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit





REAL is MY Fairytale.







24 comments:

Amy said... Best Blogger Tips

Oh, I love this!  I really enjoy both Enchanted and The Velveteen Rabbit, and this is such a great way of showing why they are so good.  Being REAL is so much better than the easy fairytales.

Meredith said... Best Blogger Tips

Oh!!  I love BOTH Enchanted and the Velveteen Rabbit!
This was such a fun post, Linds!!
Loved it!

Shanda Oakley said... Best Blogger Tips

Stay romantic.  My husband and I have been married 25 years now and we are not romantic anymore.  But I made up my mind that today when he comes home to the Christmas tree, we are going to dance together!

Amy Sullivan said... Best Blogger Tips

Oh, I love the romantic part of all of us. Plus the VR is an all time favorite. How could it not be?

Glad to find your place through "Write It, Girl".

Stacey Ruberg said... Best Blogger Tips

real is better, but often harder

KathleenBasi said... Best Blogger Tips

Oh, I love this. "Real is my fairy tale." Yes, indeed!

amberpagewrites said... Best Blogger Tips

I never thought about it that way, but you're completely right! Enchanted is one of my favorite movies too. And this, is a perfect summing up of what real life love is!

Jennifer Camp said... Best Blogger Tips

Lindsey,  Love this.  Such a powerful, beautifully told reminder. Thank you!  (I love Enchanted, too!)  :)

Katy said... Best Blogger Tips

well now that's ponderous.=)

Krishann said... Best Blogger Tips

I too am a hopeless romantic and loved every word you wrote. So beautiful and do true. So glad you shared this.

p.s. "I am dreaming of a new love kiss" :) such a sweet movie!

Stacey29lincoln said... Best Blogger Tips

First of all I love Amy Adams in Enchanted!  I need to re-visit that movie!  

Second - I love that you connected with idea that the "fairytale" is not real and the real is not perfect, but it so much better.  It is what makes you come alive!  

Third, I love that you are using a movie as a prompt!  So creative!

Thanks for being part of Write It, Girl! 

april said... Best Blogger Tips

Hi Lindsey! Thank you for that beautiful comment on my blog--such a powerful compliment. So happy to visit yours. I absolutely love the velveteen rabbit--wrote a song based on it, even. And, I'm heading to Haiti (my first time) this January. I'd love to email with you and hear more of your story. We're going with Global Orphan Project (heard of them?). Ok, again, thanks for those generous words. Blessings to you! april

Emily said... Best Blogger Tips

I am SO SO SO very glad you found my blog and commented on it, leading me to your blog! I love this post and, like you, love Enchanted - but hadn't realized why I loved it so much until you pointed it out - she doesn't choose the prince. The movie embraces all of my romantic tendencies and weaves in real life. I also love the quote from the Velveteen Rabbit - wonderful post, wonderfully written!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you...and I agree! REAL is the best!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you, Meredith! I enjoyed the writing of it...

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

So...did you dance together?  I think the romance to me has become more about the little things than the grand gestures.

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks, Amy!  I agree...there should always be a bit of romance in each of us!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Real is better.
Many times harder.
But somehow still better in the long run.
And I say that having experienced some recent hard.

Sending hugs and prayers to you if you are finding yourself in the "harder"

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks, Kathleen!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

I know, right? I have LONG loved Enchanted and finally realized the truths in it while watching clips this fall.

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Yay! And of course...you HAVE to love Enchanted! It's a kindred spirit thing! ;-)

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Hmmm...hope you enjoyed the pondering!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

You wrote a song based on it? Is there somewhere that I can listen to that?  Will you e-mail me and we can chat more lindseyfoj {at} gmail {dot} com ?

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

I know...it's just a beautiful movie and premise, right??

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