waking up sleeping beauty

She lies there, in exquisite repose, waiting for the saving powers of true love’s kiss so she may wake up from a sleep of a hundred years.

Is this the anomaly begun by the Brothers Grimm and perpetuated by the animated movie of Walt Disney?

Lining up the paper dolls of the various female princess characters we have collected from Disney movies, I could pick out Sleeping Beauty as the least of my favorite.

Jasmine in her midrib-revealing outfit went and left behind the comforts of her palace walls to experience the real world; Ariel in her sexy top and tail thirsted and searched fathoms below for new things to learn; and Belle in her low-décolletage golden gown pored over books and established a civil and friendly relationship with a hideous beast.

But Sleeping Beauty? She just anchored on one dream, the dream of true love. Living your whole life on a dream of true love may be romantic and all, yet how simple that could be! And uninteresting!

Is it not a pity that you are in your own life movie, and you are asleep in the most part of it? Oh of course you were good when you were still awake, gently cavorting with the forest animals and nature, dancing and longing for that once upon a dream meeting with the love of your life, and walking like the way the noble would walk. Yet no matter how queenly and enchantingly you lie there, the question is - where is the action?

Jasmine gets a race with a young man in downtown area; Ariel skips a concert and gets a loud scolding; Belle has to walk miles between her father and a beast she realized she loves; and Sleeping Beauty - well, she sleeps and waits for a prince to kiss her so she’ll get animated.

I think we move the stories of our lives each time we grow, stumble upon a truth, shake off a fear, face a challenge, and shed a wrong conviction. Not when we are comatose and fully surrendering to our lot.

So Sleeping Beauty just had the luck that her prince is an ideal man, and is ready to fight dragons for her. But luck and long tresses and the classic gown aside, she deserves the wake up call presented by Shrek – a good shaking, and the chance for her to own up the happy ever after of the story of her life.