One great thing about having a two-year-old is that I have the perfect excuse to watch stuff on Nick Jr. It is always a joy to find nuggets of treasures behind some of these kids’ shows.
One particular “find” came as an a-ha moment for me last night while my boy was watching this 10-minute segment about a character that was on his way home from somewhere.
While on this hero’s journey, the character kept meeting friends who warned him not to go past a certain place (tall green grass, fence, etc.), as there was something big and scary out there. No one can tell him exactly what that big and scary thing was, but everyone else thought it was scary enough not to want to find out.
Every time he’d encounter a friend who tried to stop him, his standard answer went something along the lines of, “It might be a big and scary thing past the fence/grass/etc., but I still have to go there because that’s the only way to get to my house.”
The closer he got to the house, the scarier the descriptions of “the big orange monster” seemed to be. But, the brave little hero never faltered. He knew that that was the only way to his destination, so he kept on going anyway - even if he had to face the monster.
Finally, he saw a glimpse of the orange creature. He faltered for a bit. But, decided to overcome his fear and faced it. It turned out that “the big orange monster” was just a balloon with a silly face drawn on it. So, he took the balloon and named it. Then, he went home to show “the big orange monster” and to tell the story of his scary adventure with his dad.
I’ve seen that segment about a hundred times. But, it was only last night that something “clicked”.
You see, often, we are faced with such decisions in life — where people, circumstances, our own doubts, and such tell us “not to go past a certain place” because something big and scary is out there. We don’t know what it is, but it’s terrifying nevertheless. And, often, we take heed and head the other way. It is very rare to face up to the challenge and say, “I’m going there anyway because that’s the only way I can get to where I want to go.”
It takes vision and resilience to know where we’re going — and to head that way, even if we face several things that tell us otherwise.
So, what’s your Big Orange Monster like? And, what will it take for you to face it no matter what?
Can you just imagine what it would be like to find a fun balloon instead of a monster at the end of it?
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Write a Comment»one of my greatest fears is being at the mercy of those who appoint themselves the arbiters of what is “best” for me, like in a mental hospital, simply because i don’t share their perspective; to be “helped” against my will by people who treat unhappiness as a disease; or worse yet, to be paralysed in a hospital with a painful disease, unable to kill myself and at the mercy of a superstitious, self-righteous society which is unwilling to take mercy upon me because it would upset their apple-cart. in short i fear loss of control while imprisoned in consciousness.
i can’t see any fun in that unless i am able to cultivate a taste for torment; were that possible i’d be lighter than an orange ballon and happy as a fluffy rabbit romping in high grass. and i’d be my hero.
god bless St. Kevorkian and may his jailers rot in hell.
and no i’m not crying for help, Shai, got it covered, just answering the question. seems like there were no bites so thought i’d get it started..
Hi, Susan. Thanks for your response. It takes a lot to admit such things, I know. Don’t worry, I wasn’t thinking that you needed help.
Again, thank you for sharing.
cool was afraid you’d whip that str8 jacket out from under your desk, i can tell you’re not one to be trifled with!! heheheee
but yea it is a biggie to admit, mostly because it’s closer to the truth than most people want to acknowledge in themselves. we’re all afraid of losing / giving up control don’t you think? especially with our (and most prolly) society’s tendency to judge forst and ask questions later, and our emphasis on “normailty”, especially with the neo-McCarthyist movement we’re enjoying at the moment..
though regarding “admitting”, i read Uta Frith’s “autism and asperger’s syndrome” and saw myself in every page, and we auto-cats have fuzzy boundaries between our thoughts and our words
admitting it to *onesself* is the scary part yes?
btw your artwork is lovely, it really radiates your joi de vivre..
btw see you’re a Nick fan, ever see the original Nick version of Tuck Everlasting? the ending doesn’t pull punches like the new version. i was surprised to see such stark existentialism on Nick when i was, what, 15? but i was impressed they trusted us kids with serious philosophy as well. i totally identified with that turtle..
hmm the spam-check code showing below is “dead22″, *that’s* some chance occurrence.. do you watch for synchronicities? i didn’t used to but for the past few years they’ve been coming down like an avalanche, i’m gonna start collecting and posting them once we get “subscribe to comments” working over on the Lizard..
Children are the joy of life. We should look up to them to teach us how to enjoy life without wrecking our nerves with stress and worries.