Cinderella:
Who doesn't know the popular fairy tale of Cinderella? Surely you remember how the poor servant girl was mistreated in the home of her wicked stepmother and her two lazy stepsisters, who were just as heartless as their mother? Cinderella wore old-fashioned clothes, in fact, her entire wardrobe was just one set of tattered garments. She could have been ashamed to go around in such rags, but on the contrary, she carried herself proudly and had a lovely demeanor.
One day, Cinderella finds herself in the presence of a handsome and charming young man, whose features seem somehow familiar to her. When he beheld her, he was enthralled by the spark and radiance emanating from eyes. Outwardly, she was not very appealing in her torn old clothes and worn out shoes. Still that did not bother the youth, as something in her eyes captivated his heart. He looked at her from head to toe, and he saw her long wavy hair, her regal posture, her uniqueness, and her inner beauty shining through her impoverished condition. He saw her as a future wife. And so he went up and spoke to her.
"Can you tell me how to get to Rothschild Boulevard?" he asked. At first she was bewildered why he was asking her for directions. But then she begin to concentrate on remembering where the street was and explaining to him how to get there.
As she spoke he continued to scrutinize her every move and gesture, her voice, her grace, her poise. With each passing moment she seemed more lovely and irresistible to him.
Cinderella and the young man exchanged fleeting glances. He smiled at her and she returned the smile. She could feel him staring as if he were mesmerized, and she shyly averted her eyes. She was aware of his flirtation, yet she pretended not to notice. Then they spoke another phrase or two and he carried on his way.
Several months later they were wed in the most elegant ceremony ever performed in the whole region. Just in case you didn't notice, I skipped over what happened in the middle of the story. I assume you already know about the glass slipper, the pumpkin and the carriage…
The prince was entranced by Cinderella from the first moment he laid eyes on her. If she had acted in accordance to her miserable and squalid position, she would have had to continue their conversation only in her dreams. He dared to initiate the conversation with her and she wasn't afraid to face up to him. He moved right and she moved left. Their gestures were synchronized. She rubbed her nose and so did he. Everything just flowed naturally between them, and they laid aside their differences on the social hierarchy. From the very instant that he desired her, there was complete equality between the two. Wealth and status did not enter into the equation. Nothing else mattered but the feelings of a man for a woman and vice versa. It was love at first sight.
So what is the moral of the story? How does it apply to us?
From the fairy tale we learn that every human being has the ability to rise above his own limitations, his own circumstances, to push forward and not look back in regret. There is no sense in searching for our defects. It is self-defeating to give off the message: "I should be pitied because I don't have this and I don't have that."
Cinderella acted wisely; she was relaxed and self-confident.
She interacted with the prince on his level, as an equal… He smiled at her and she smiled back. He winked at her and she playfully shrugged her shoulders. He extended his hand and she smoothed her dress, all in a game of courtship. When he asked her a difficult question, she answered: "How interesting, could you please expand more on that topic?" She knew how to listen attentively. Her scope of understanding was not damaged by her limited experience. She knew what her role was in life.
Even after she was married, she did not allow the suffering of her former servitude to make her bitter, angry and vengeful. This could have easily been the case, as often happens when painful memories suddenly awaken and raise their ugly heads. Many times people get trapped in a past situation in life and cannot release themselves from it.
Instead she chose to move on, to always look forward with optimism.
All during her years of poverty, she wasn't caught in the moment, but rather held on to her hopes of a brighter future. Her new world pushed her forward and she broke away from the chains of her past: the fear, the adversity and the castigation. She understood that life is a game of musical chairs, one time we are up, another we are down, in a constantly changing dance.
There is a Cinderella inside of all of us. He that choses to wear a dunce cap should not be surprised when it makes him conspicuous to others.