true love and high adventure

I just finished reading the Princess Bride for the first time. It was hilarious of course. I think my favorite passage by far was Fezzik and Inigo’s trip through the Zoo of Death. “They locked the door just to add some spice to our trip!” and “You tricked me Inigo and my daddy said tricking was ok so I’m not mad at you anymore.” 🙂

But there is a bit (ok, a load) of cynical flavor to Mr Goldman’s commentary that I wanted to address. You see he loved the Princess Bride story when he was a kid because it had true love and high adventure. But when he was an adult he had got this notion that most people miss out on true love and high adventure. That’s true. But I don’t know that it has to be that way.

I think it’s that most people don’t know how to find true love or have adventures. When they don’t find princesses to save or dragons to fight they assume that the fairy tales lied to them, bottle up their discontent, and settle for enduring the life they have. But the truth is that there are loads of princesses just dying to be saved, and you can’t hardly take a step without tripping over dragons. You’ve just got the learn to see them. I save a princess most every day I get home from work. I swoop in and rescue my lovely wife from the grouchy kiddo dragons. And those dragons are special dragons that I hug and kiss and they turn into princesses too! Then we troop off on great adventures. We explore the latest foreign land (unknown restaurant that we have coupons for), we fight off evil ogres, (the rats who invaded my wood pile), and find hidden treasure in the trap of the bathroom sink (mommy’s earring is found!).

What’s true love? Love that is felt and returned. It comes from promises that are kept, and sacrifices that are made. It comes from hugs and kisses, from sharing, from laughing and crying together. It comes from remembering the good times, during the hard times, and looking for the next good times. It’s magic, and it’s a vow, and it’s little choices made every day. And at least 50% comes from inside yourself.

What’s high adventure? It’s being optimistic, imaginative, and full of wonder. It’s choosing to make an adventure out of things. It’s opening yourself up, taking a risk, and living for the sake of feeling alive. It comes from inside you.

The greatest thing about fairy tales is that they don’t just happen to people. Whether they are in books or in real life, fairy tales are made by people. Yes Mr Goldman, life isn’t fair, but what you make of it is entirely up to you.