HAPPILY EVER AFTER

HAPPILY EVER AFTER – Is this overrated or have we always interpreted incorrectly 

I was at my friend’s house a few days back and her 3-year old daughter Alyra was showing me her collection of princess books that she has received. It was a collection of all the stories that we have read during our childhood. (Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella, Snow White and the seven dwarfs, Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty etc.)

Alyra got busy playing and I started reading the books to understand how they are able to cover the entire story in a small book. After reading ‘Little Mermaid’ I got a bit confused with the story line. It concluded with little mermaid realizing humans are nice people and she decides to live with them rather than in the ocean. This got me curious and I started reading all the stories and what I realized is there was no happily ever after with prince charming who come for the rescue but, rather a practical conclusion where most of them find their passion etc.

My friend and I got into discussing this, since ‘Happily Ever After’ is debatable in real life and not like fairy tales. You can hope but we need to be realistic what we really need to be happy and content in life. We realized as kids we grew up reading of princess who have their prince charming to save them and live happily ever after in their life. As we enter our teens, we grow up reading Mills & Boons and imagining of meeting a hero in real life who will sweep us out of our feet. We grew up believing in all this when in reality we get disappointed on facing unexpected failures. We mature eventually to learn to appreciate them. But some may not – my sincere hope for them is to realize this and live life as it comes