Here is an exercise you can use to learn more about your personal myth --
Begin by recalling a character from a myth or fairytale that feels particularly important to you. Now, sitting quietly where and when you will not be interrupted, become the character. See yourself as the character, feel as your would imagine the character to feel.
Now, take some time and complete the following statements. Write as much as you want about each one:
1.“I am ..."
2. “My purpose as this character is … "
3. "I feel ..."
4. "What I like about being this character is …"
5. "What I don't like about being this character is ... "
6. "As this character I desire … "
Read back over what you have written. Do you see ways that this character’s feelings resemble your own in a situation in your life? Can you see the story you are living?
This awesome... I'm going to try it. I have chosen the character Cinderella because I have often said I wish I could be like her.
1. I am... pleasant and hardworking, diligent and loyal, cheerful and optimistic. I am capable of finding happiness in every situation, no matter how awful it seems, and of doing what needs to be done, no matter how unpleasant or unjust. Although I do feel sadness and despair and I do break down and cry, I don't let it be who I am. I am always willing to give or do whatever it takes to find my happiness and make all my dreams come true. I will try bizarre things in my quest, but I won't hurt others along the way. I am happiness in the face of hardship.
2. My purpose as this character is... to demonstrate that a good attitude can overcome anything and make the most unpleasant of circumstances into a happy time. I bring hope to those in hardship and I set the example of how to be obedient and productive despite negative emotions and circumstances. I give hope in the belief that goodness is rewarded and everyone, no matter what their station, can get their happily ever after.
3. I feel... happy and optimistic. Although I experience negative emotions such as anger, frustration, disappointment and hopelessness, I never let them take over me. In hardship or happiness I can be a ray of sunshine.
4. What I like about being this character is... successfully choosing to be happy whether the circumstances are glorious or grim. I like being a role model for being obedient without being broken. I like the way I will get what I deserve without having to hurt anyone else to get it.
5. What I don't like about being this character is... the hardships I endure. I long for an easier life, with a Prince and a palace and no one hating me no matter what I do. I don't like having to see other people reaping rewards that ought to be mine. I don't like taking the blame for everything bad without any of the credit for anything good. I don't like having to rely on unlikely dreams to sustain me. (I also don't like being so one-dimensional, but that is a reflection on the writing of this Disney version rather than a lack of full character in the myth itself. *wink*)
6. As this character, I desire... love. I long to live in a world where I am loved for what I do rather than looked down on no matter what I do. I can make myself happy anywhere under any circumstances and I can do everything that is asked of me without complaint or defiance, but I would like more things to be happy about than things to overcome. And I want my goodness to not only help me endure the hardships but also to escape from them and into my happily ever after.
***
I am sure this is a field day of things that it says about me. Right now, all I see is everything that I'm not... I don't see how her feelings mimic my own because it is that very thing that makes me wish I could be like her: her feelings. I don't see my life in the story because I've got it good, really good, and still manage to be miserable, whereas Cinderella lived in Hell and rose above it in thought, word, and deed. I suppose this exercise shows what I value, but (unfortunately) not what I live...
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