“I close my eyes and feel myself fly
A thousand miles away.
I could take flight but
Would it be right?
My conscience tells me stay.
I’ll remain forever loyal.
I’d repay my parent’s debts…
I’ll never stop believing,
She can never stop my schemes.
There’s more to life than gloves and gowns,
And threads and seams.
In my dreams,
I’ll be FREEEEEE!”
Barbie! Ella would not stop singing that Barbie song! I warned her to keep quiet for the fourth time today. I had to concentrate on this story. I was running out of time. She looked at me, mumbled an “okay” and resumed her singing, almost as if nothing had happened.
“Ella! Shut up!” I screamed at her.
She shook a little.
“Okay. I won’t sing so loud,” she said and continued singing, gently now.
“All my life, I’ve always wanted to have one day just for me… “
Yes. She was still disturbing my solemn writing time. I ignored her and resumed staring at the blank page in front of me. Freedom. What was I to write on freedom? There were so many different angles, I didn’t even know where to take it from.
“In my dreams,
I’ll be FREEEEEE!” Apparently, she had forgotten her vow to be quiet. I listened to the words of that song. It had something to do with freedom, didn’t it?
Barbie in the Princess and the Pauper was one of my favorite Barbie series. The Princess and the Pauper were born on the same day, but they came from different worlds. While the Princess grew up in comfort and luxury, the pauper grew up in poverty and misery. Despite their contrasting lives, they both sang the same song, “Freedom”. They both wanted to be free.
The Princess felt constrained by her duties and responsibilities to her kingdom. She had to marry a prince she had absolutely no feelings for in order to save her kingdom. All she wanted was to bury her head in the library but life had other plans for her. She felt bound. She just wanted to be free.
The Pauper, on the other hand, had debts to pay. Her parents had died with so many debts left for her to inherit. She worked, almost as a slave at a designer’s shop, hoping that one day, she’d be free. She hoped that one day, she’d have no more debts to pay and she could truly squeeze free from the bondage that had overwhemed her.
They both ended their song with, “In my dreams, I’ll be free.” Yes, like all fairytale movies, they had their happy endings and were free from all that chained them, but it isn’t always that way, is it?
Sometimes, we hold on to some surreal dreams and ideas, believing that if we could just have that one job, if we could just have that one million, we’d finally be free!
But that’s a lie. That’s a really fat lie. Yes, you might gain freedom from today’s problems, but tomorrow’s problems are right ahead, waiting for you. There’s no such thing as being completely free. I hate to be the one to break this to you but the freedom you dream of exists only in your mind. The light at the end of the tunnel which you so desperately crave will only meet you at the other side. As you go through life you’ll see that life is one dark long tunnel.
You’ll have to create that light you seek. Yes, you’ll have to create that freedom you crave.
There’s a higher freedom though and there’s a higher light. His name is Truth.
I glanced at Ella, who had dozed off on the couch. Should I thank her for this inspiration?
Yes, you definitely should thank Ella…. as soon as she wakes up though☺️.
Well done Cathy for another great piece.
Lol. I will. Thank you ma!