Life is not a Fairytale...

and here's why that's a good thing.

Fairytales teach us that people can be compartmentalised. One is either good or bad, heroic or cowardly, and with these traits, stereotypes have been attached. We have the notion that these are distinct characteristics impressed upon us from a young age, but the reality is, there are overlaps. Every life is a pile of good things and bad things; the good doesn't always make up for the bad, but the bad doesn't always dilute the good things, or make them unimportant. In the same way, pure heroism comes from the state of maximum fear. It is not cowardly to be afraid, nor is it brave to be not, for bravery is not the absence of fear, but being afraid and persevering anyway. Every person is a concoction of different emotions and characters, and to embrace these differences is to embrace your own humanity.

We are also tutored into the thought process that greatness is only for the chosen few, for the 'champions' in life. I believe greatness to be fundamentally present in us all. If you think about it holistically, the fact that you are alive and present, right here, right now, is truly remarkable. That, in itself, is great. We are all enough as we are. Our own personal endeavours do not make us greater, or more successful, they instead form the structure of our nuanced lives. Anyone can be great, you just have to be brave enough to realise that.

Finally, fairytales like to paint the idilic picture that everything works out perfect in the end. There is this idea that when everything falls into place for that character, then life becomes worth living. In actuality, a life full of imperfection and authenticity is what is truly valuable. Our simultaneous expedition through the comedy and tragedy of life, holds us to the mark. It reminds us of how fleeting and finite life can be as well as how precious it is. It is this reminder that makes life worth living, not the fabricated ideology of perfection.

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Fairytales like to follow the template of when everything works out, when they live 'happily ever after', that is when the tale ends. What if that was just the beginning? For the first time in my life I feel truly empowered and liberated when doing my sport as I am injury and illness free. Today's successes are tomorrow's memories, and let me tell you, tomorrow better buckle up...

Our lives will never be a fairytale, but they will one day be a story; let's make it a good one.

L x