Several weeks later, Jody received a thank-you note.
Because her workbook had helped the dying mother express
her love for her daughters in writing, she was able to spend
the last few weeks of her life in peace. Jody wept. All this
time, she had been afraid of failing, of trying and not
succeeding, but now she understood what was really at
stake. She knew the thing she had to fear the most was
failing to answer this calling she had received, no matter
how much it hurt.
“I would rather go for it and fail than not try,” she said.
What We Learn from Fairy
Tales
At the beginning of every story, we see something that
looks a lot like normal life. Long before the protagonist
slays a dragon or embarks on a quest, we see her in some
unsuspecting place, dreaming of something more. In Beauty
and the Beast (my personal favorite Disney classic), Belle
sings of wanting more than “this provincial life.” In Star
Wars, Luke can’t wait to escape the boredom of a farmer’s
life. And in The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy sings about life
“somewhere over the rainbow.” Our lives are haunted by
the ghosts of what might have been.
It’s easy to dismiss such people as dreamers or even