This little soldier finally realised that being the fairest isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and looking up to stars can be dangerous – especially when they fall. And that ‘way up high’, ‘over the rainbow’ and ‘climbing the ladder’ are sometimes dangerous places to try and reach. And too far away to possibly get there on time.
Footnote: It’s such a competitive world. There’s a strong current drawing us up, up and away from who we are – or are comfortable and content being. Acceptance, popularity, success and fitting in, can feel so out of reach. It can feel impossible to meet the expectations of others. Until the question arises – what and who determines our worth? It’s also wise to question the notion that a sense of belonging exists somewhere outside ourselves. And that bigger and the better and more determines if we are – ‘enough’. It’s potentially a hothouse for discontent. Home? Home can be a building, a place, but it can also be a secure feeling within yourself.
Kindness makes a difference … and you may not receive anything in return for your kindness – but don’t let that stop you being kind. We all know how good it feels when we experience kindness. And how on a bad day, it can turn things around. Revive our faith in the world. And it’s not always obvious who’s struggling. And if you are, coming up against someone who is being unkind can feel like the last straw. And that straw isn’t always outwardly visible. So it’s just safer for everyone if we all just be kinder.
When the wild things contemplate eating Max, he tells them they can’t eat him because he’s a King. “But you’re so small.” They reply. “Small is good.” Explains Max. “My powers are able to slip right through the cracks.” “But what if the cracks are closed up?” Ask the wild things.
“Then I have a recracker which goes right through that.” “But what if they have some sort of material that recrackers can’t get through?” “Then I have a double recracker that can get through anything in this whole universe and that’s the end. And there’s nothing more powerful than that – ever. Period.”
When Max tells the wild things he can make everything right. They ask, “What about loneliness? Will you keep out all the sadness?” Max says, “I have a sadness shield, that keeps out all the sadness. It’s big enough for all of us.”
( ‘Clunk & Jam Book, 2019. Film, ‘Where The Wild Things Are’, 2009. Original story and book by Maurice Sendak, 1963. Reposted from 2011).
