每个人的生活都是上帝亲手书写的童话。
Every man's life is a fairy tale written by God's fingers.
How Fairy Tales Shape Our Destiny 童话——剪不断的情结
Cashdan Sheldon
There is much we can learn by reflecting on the stories heard in childhood. Magical characters are likely to remain in the imagination for a lifetime. Fairytale is a sub-genre of folktale, something that is handed down from person to person for generations; one of the most important identifying features of a folktale is that it belongs to an entire culture, rather than to an individual. That is why folktales give us many insights into the cultures from which they spring.
My own first hearing of many of the old stories was in the places where they originated. Throughout my childhood our family would travel abroad for several months every few years. There were six children. My parents came up with an ingenious and life-changing idea: have us study the local tales. When we were in Denmark, we visited the home of Hans Christian Andersen, and discussed his stories, such as The Little Mermaid. In Germany, we went to the village of Hamelin, where the tale of the Pied Piper takes place. In Baghdad, it was Arabian Nights. In the temples of India and Japan, the tales of Asia came to life. Seeing how the adventures reflected their settings and how the stories are still alive in those places was a powerful experience.
Various people can imagine the tales quite differently. I had heard the stories before and had pictures in my mind about what the places looked like.
I later learned how these stories portray life issues in miniature. These tales are psychological mirrors that can become more complex as we mature. Bedtime stories have enormous influence over our identities. People identify with certain characters in the stories they heard in childhood. To some degree, many live out these stories, largely unaware of how much the old tales may be shaping our lives.
Mythic stories make up a kind of collective dream that we all have together. If we want to understand our dreams, in many respects, we can look at these stories and study them. A talking animal in a story is often the voice of nature. Among other messages, we are being reminded that we are also animals. We are walking around in animal flesh. We sometimes forget this in our excessively mental, all too industrial culture. We are, first of all, animal creatures. We are not just visitors to nature, or merely caretakers of nature. We are nature. Guiding animals are crucial in mythic stories. Psychologically, this might well represent the wisdom of the body. Meanwhile, sinister or wicked characters may represent aspects of ourselves that have been neglected or rejected.
The ancient tales have their own lives, each with unique, eccentric qualities. Part of the richness is that the same story will have different lessons for each listener. Stories can speak to us in several ways: The practical aspects of our personalities appreciate the assistance provided in prudent decision-making. Our playful energies find the stories to be great fun. The quiet, spiritual side is grateful to have some time invested in reflection. The effects of what we learn might last for a lifetime.
我们思考儿时听过的故事，可以学习到很多事情。那些神奇的角色会一辈子停留在我们的记忆中。童话是民间故事的一个小分支，是祖祖辈辈传承下来的财富。民间故事最重要的，也是最有决定意义的一个特征，就是它属于整个文化，而不属于个人。所以，民间故事可以让我们得以洞察它所从属的文化。
我第一次听到很多老故事，就是在它们的发源地。小的时候，全家人每隔几年都要出国旅行几个月。我家一共六个孩子，父母想出了一个聪明的主意，这个主意改变了我们的一生：让我们学习当地的童话故事。我们在丹麦的时候，就拜访汉斯·克里斯蒂安·安徒生的故居，讨论他的故事，比如《小美人鱼》。在德国，我们就前往《花衣魔笛手》故事的发生地汉姆林村。在巴格达，我们就听《一千零一夜》。在印度和日本的庙宇里，亚洲的故事就鲜活地出现在我们面前。我们看到，这些探险故事是如何反映它们的背景，又是如何在这些地方历久弥新地存活下来，这种体验实在是震撼人心。
不同的人对这些故事会有不同的想象。我以前听过这些故事，也在脑海中勾勒过这些地方的模样。
后来我才发现，这些故事都是生活问题的缩影。它们是我们心理上的镜子，随着我们渐渐成熟会变得越来越复杂。睡前故事对我们的性格有着深远的影响。人们会对号入座，把自己当成童话故事中的某个角色。从某种程度上来说，很多人在按照这些故事展开生活，大多数人都意识不到，这些旧故事会如何塑造我们的人生。
神话故事代表着我们共同拥有的梦想。如果我们想要理解梦想，就可以去读读这些故事。故事中会说话的动物通常是大自然的代言人。这些故事会传递给我们很多信息，会提醒我们，人类也是动物的一种。我们以动物的躯壳在社会上行走。我们有时会忘记这一点，因为我们的文化太过强调脑力，太过工业化。我们首先是动物物种，不仅只是大自然的造访者，或者大自然的管理者。我们就是自然。神话故事中领头的动物都至关重要。从心理学上来说，这可能就代表了身体的智慧。同时，凶恶或邪恶的角色可能就代表着被我们忽视或摈弃的部分。
古老的故事有着自己的生命，每一个故事都有自己独特的、非同寻常的品质。它们之所以会如此馥郁，是因为每个听众都能得到不同的感悟。故事能用各种方式跟我们交流：性格中务实的部分会欣然接受童话故事帮助我们作出谨慎的决定；爱玩的天性可能会觉得这些故事带给我们特别大的趣味；安静的灵魂会感激童话故事让我们花一点时间进行自省。而我们学习到的这些东西，可能会对我们产生一辈子的影响。