On how we are free

Years ago, Jessica had a big plastic castle that she got for Christmas, and a number of princess figures that fit inside.

One day she came to me and she said, “I let all of the princesses out of the castle and now they are free!”

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She was beyond excited; she was thrilled. And also relieved, and a bit concerned about what was next. I guess it must have felt a little like the Liberation of Paris.

She still loves princesses, and castles, and she would be happy to be a princess who lived in a castle, and also she would really rather not work so hard as everyone seems to think she should, but ever since she has always known that living in the castle is a choice, and that it isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be, and just because someone else might like it, that doesn’t mean you will or you should or you’re wrong for leaving.

And every now and then, when I give up something I should want but don’t, or shed an illusion of safety to walk into the unknown, I think, “I let myself out of the castle, and now I am free.”

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Dojo Wisdom for Writers, second edition, now available on Amazon in print and ebook! (Nook and other ebook versions here)
Catch a Falling Star (by Jessica Starre) and The Matchmaker Meets Her Match (by Jenny Jacobs), two of my favorite novels.

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