We are all Cinderella
I loved fairy-tales, fables and stories as a kid (still love them!). I dusted off one of those big books, which contain collections of famous tales and I read it again. I love the illustrations, the way the plot is weaved, the lessons and the fact that now Iâm a different person and I can unlock a whole new perspective about it. Yes, Iâm still that kid with eyes full of wonder but someone new, and that means I have the opportunity to receive the gifts of a story from another depth that only life experience can give you.
I am also a big enthusiast when it comes to Jungian analysis and the re-discovery of archetypes in fairy-tales and myths. It comes as no surprise that I dig âNew Thoughtâ Christianity authors, because they did similar work, they would find the metaphysical meaning in the Bibleâs stories; they didnât merely read stories but found out what those characters truly represent in Human Consciousness. You get the feeling that they were immersing themselves in teachings deeply enough to scratch the surface and to go beyond it, to gain a deeper understanding of truth, to live as Christ taught; itâs a refreshing perspective because this wasnât about the preaching, it was about finding out the truth.
What I have come to understand myself is that itâs the Spirit within ourselves (that gives life), that shows the truth in anything and the magical thing is that, it works for everything in life, not only the Bible but all kinds of wisdom teachings. And I know fairy-tales and myths are just another way to transmit wisdom to children with a fascinating and fun method.
I have been thinking about all my fave things about tales and their metaphorical meanings and I wanna start with Cinderella.
Cinderella is a Classic. I think the story has lots of metaphors and this is my own interpretation. We all know how it starts and what happens to her; Cinderella is basically âa slaveâ and treated as a servant by her evil step-mother and step-sisters. I feel like this represents a stage in life when we are just submitting ourselves to whatever circumstances are going on, it could be anything⌠from a friend group we donât vibe with but we still hang out with, to a type of school we attend only to make our parents âhappyâ, or a job that sucks our spirit away but keeps us eating; these are not great examples but Iâm talking figuratively, so consider anything that makes you feel trapped, anything you feel like âyou have to do and cope withâ because you donât know how to overcome it, and youâre not even looking for a way out because you canât imagine it.
Then thereâs the ball, right? I see the ball as the opportunity to finally step out of that situation, when there is enough clarity within ourselves and we begin to understand that this life weâre living now isnât all there is and there is more awaiting us. Thatâs when we can finally start dreaming again and we dream of doing things differently⌠because we can, the invitation to the ball is also for us!!! But the stepmother makes it super difficult, almost impossible for Cinderella to go to the ball and these are the adversities and challenges of life.
However, no matter how impossible, the âhelpâ appears. The Divine Grace makes itself visible, the assistance to step through this new portal of life comes along with the opportunity itself. There are a few versions of the story, we know of the Fairy but also the animals and the doves. All these represent that compass within ourselves, it guides us back home, to our heartâs truth, to recognize our worth and potential. It tells us that weâve been wearing âtattered clothesâ for too long and that now itâs time to get rid of those old rags. This is the inner transformation we go through as we release beliefs about ourselves. We let go of the person we believed ourselves to be and we allow our inner light to shine. No more dimming ourselves, we are not here to worry whether others are comfortable with our presence or not. And as we do this, our natural qualities emerge.
The fairy makes a beautiful dress for Cinderella so she can attend the ball. Clothes are important metaphorically, but weâve got to make a distinction here, itâs not the clothes that make us glorious, itâs our own beauty shining through the clothes we wear. The dress is an extension of that inner glory, our true self! So this part is about remembering who we are, remembering our uniqueness, remembering our own inner beauty... what we wear and how we carry ourselves are part of our unique expression.
Cinderella goes from tattered, lousy clothing to the magnificent and fabulous dress. This has a lot to do with the personality; itâs not the dress defining who we are but as we choose to be our true self, it gets expressed through every aspect and area of life, it doesnât stay confined only to one thing. The external expression comes back in alignment with the inner light. Authenticity equals beauty here (we are not talking about the âtrying to look beautifulâ kinda thing, okay?). This is a necessary stage, we canât go to the ball with old rags. We canât carry that burden, not so much because of how others will look at us but because this is about how we choose to present ourselves. Again, clothes are not merely the extension and the physical expression of who we are but also a metaphor for personality and what we identify with. If we go with the old rags, we will be confused and get to wrong conclusions like we donât belong there and self-sabotage our growth!
What happens next? Cinderella goes to the ball and she meets the Prince! Of course, the Prince is a symbol, like anything else in this story. What does the Prince represent? The prince is the one who âinherits the kingdomâ, right? He is that part within us that represents âthe dreamâ. The version of ourselves that lives accordingly to that dream life. So, she gets a taste of the ball, of the prince, of the dream.
Then the clock strikes midnight and she runs back home, to her old life!
Now why does this clock thing happens, that obliges her to wear again her old dress? Achieving a new form, a new version, a new lifestyle requires a process. It takes several cycles and stages. When we have one foot in the old and the other in the new, we are like the cocoon, still getting adjusted, still transforming, still understanding, still crystallizing the new form. We are giving ourselves the time to see who we are, how we respond to these changes, and the new chances knocking at our door. We are choosing each day what to embody and it happens with conscious repetition. It takes several tries to get there... itâs a good sign, this is progress; each and every step of the way is important, itâs teaching us something. We are becoming butterflies. The new pair of wings wants us to know how to fly! Itâs not easy but thatâs okay. Better than suffocating in ashes anyway, am I right? Oh wait doesnât this sound familiar? The name Cinderella translates to âlittle ash girlâ and it traces back to the state of submissiveness, humility and modest life⌠but we are men and women of culture, we know by now who rises from the ashes and thatâs the Phoenix, a symbol of rebirth and renewal! Itâs a beautiful archetype that awakens us to Truth. It reminds us of the natural cycles of death and rebirth that are part of nature, of life, and ourselves. We are meant to shed away the beliefs we were holding onto because most of them were inherited from our family! Weâre all here to break old cycles, isnât that cool?
Now, letâs get to the part where the Prince looks for Cinderella. We know she has left behind a crystal-like shoe in the rush to go away. This means itâs all real; itâs not one of those illusions where youâre imagining things and you have to get back to the old, cold reality and snap out of it, no. The dream is real and it exists within you. And whatâs even greater about this is that the Prince wants to find her! This new version of us, this dream we have wants to be with us as much as we want it, if not even more! The Prince wants to be part of our life and wants to dance with us. The shoe can only fit on our foot because it was made for us only! Nobody else can wear it, do you know that? Are you aware of it? Sure, the evil step-sisters may covet it but it wonât work for them because that shoe was made for us. Now the funny thing about this is how they try to fit in the shoe at all costs even to the point of cutting off their own feet, as the step-mother suggests because her eyes are on the prize: one of her daughters becoming âthe queenâ. This is what happens when people are only interested in the reward; the experience backfires not only because that path doesnât fit for them, but they had to cut away parts of themselves to get it and no matter how much they keep trying to fit in, they never will. You canât take away something that was made for someone else, especially when you are only interested in the glories of it. Vain desires attract vain results...and suffering. When we want something, we really have to understand why we want it and if itâs really made for us, if it aligns with our true self.
But after all, the Prince finds Cinderella, that dream version that wants to come to life recognizes us. And guess what? The Prince loves Cinderella as she is. We may not have all the âfancy clothesâ yet or all the âright cardsâ but the Prince knows who we are, even before we have fully become that version, the prince loves us throughout our âfull becomingâ. This is true love because it is our True Self, and the true self doesnât judge who we had to become to cope with life⌠Love knows our struggles and itâs exactly because we are so loved that it wants to retrieve us from a life that doesnât fully reflect our Splendor. All it takes is for us is to go to the Ball! Going to the ball means giving ourselves the opportunity to step through new experiences and let go of our insecurities⌠letting go of that doubt, whether we can do it or not... weâve been holding back our Inner Cinderella for too long. Let us embrace our Becoming, knowing we already are everything we dream of. Let us not forget to go to the ball and celebrate after we do all the hard work.
We are all little Cinderellas in a way, regardless of our gender. We all deserve to find the Kingdom within.
"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." â Matthew 5:14-16
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." â Matthew 6:33