“But there are victories far worse than defeats; and to overcome an angel too gentle to put out all his strength, and ride away in triumph on the back of a devil, is one of the poorest.”
Happy Mother's Day to you. The Lost Princess is the first of your books that I've collected, and I like it very much. I found a very clean copy but I'll admit I have put a few wear marks on it. Oh well, it does get read.
Thank you for your continuing courage in writing the truth when it seems to be the least favored thing. It's hard to imagine, isn't it, that we would deliberately hide the truth, when it's plain to see. But, here we are... So, thank you.
Happy Mother’s Day Karen❣️. Once again, you deeply touched my heart. Your illustrations are exquisite. I found myself marveling that not only are you a brilliant writer, you are also an artist! The illustrations alone are the kind that would have drawn me to the book as a child. The wonderful story, enhanced by your rich, magical illustrations would have made me want to crawl through the page into the cottage of the wise woman and never leave.
There are those special times in life when we unexpectedly find ourselves in the presence of the “wise woman.” If we are fortunate, she becomes our mentor for a time. The wisest will gently hand us The Mirror, knowing that those who are earnest about learning, may become horrified by what we find, once we become willing to look deeply into ourselves. The process of learning who we are, is often painful, especially when we begin to find our “shadow,” or those hidden parts within, which we firmly believed could never be lurking inside of us. Discovering that some of those areas by which we judge others most harshly are also imbedded in us, can be mortifying. The truly wise woman then becomes the safe container, enabling us to explore long enough to turn some of the painful insights into a newly found courage, which leads to developing understanding. and empathy. She teaches us that the acknowledgment of our humanness can provide us with tools which allow us to both recognize and understand those most undesirable traits, such as entitlement, fear, hatred, rage, and to choose not to allow them to be expressed when we see glimpses of them wanting to react. Through understanding, we then gain the power to make the choice to be grateful instead of entitled, to understand the behaviors we detest in order to exorcise them out of our soul. We may find ourselves facing a festering mob and attempt to defuse it in spite of our fear. If we cannot defuse it and the group changes into a mob, we can choose to not participate in their destruction while finding other methods to hopefully change the minds of those participants. We may fail to change the minds of others, but we will at least have the knowledge that we did everything we could by trying. I guess that’s a time when we might choose to become “the resistance.” Or, as you expressed, somehow gather all these protesting “students,” and take them to a place filled with wise people, in order to re-educate them, or to be more accurate, deprogram them.
I mentioned above, that as a child, once I crawled into the picture, I would never want to leave that perfectly cozy cottage or the wise woman. Yet once the wise woman imparted her knowledge, she took the princess back to the castle. It inevitably works the same way for the student or seeker. The mentor must walk us back to the doorway which opens into the stark world. The world becomes our proving ground. The little princess proved herself once she returned to the castle. Her test was not easy, yet she willingly embraced it.
Your story about the girl in detention moved me to tears as well. You made her empathy and deep love for her mother palpable. And your illustration conveyed the feelings not able to be covered by words.
I am going to find “The Lost Princess.” It’s an important book. It’s the kind of book that builds character in the children who read it. It’s a tragic day when classics become too “white” or too anything. The message is deep and universal regardless of its packaging. We are living in a tragic day…tragic, frightening times. Too many character building and mind expanding books (the building blocks to learning how to think) are being thrown off the shelves to be replaced with frightening propaganda…but I certainly do not need to tell you that!
I’m sending a copy of this essay to my friend who is another individual who courageously works hard in spite of fear brought about by exhaustion and dealing with life’s difficult circumstances.
Your observations of fear and courage were quotable and the last quote of your essay was powerful. It is where I believe we are finding ourselves these days. May our Angel not be too gentle!
I hope that this Mother’s Day is a truly happy one for you.
Thank you for the gift of this essay and for sharing your beautiful book and valuable insight. I can’t wait to find “The Lost Princess.”
Thank you so much. So beautifully said. It's true that we cannot stay in safe places forever, we must find the courage to face harsh, cold reality and being some warmth and kindness there.
Thank you for your wise words. The opening quote took me a while to make sense of. Now I see that it could grace a banner fluttering over the campus mobs naively celebrating their victory over the wicked Zionist students.
Thank you also for your willingness to warn us that harsher days lie ahead. No one from Paul Revere to Gandolf Stormcrow to Jabotinsky has ever endeared himself to his audience by heralding the coming storm. Nor by alerting us that we need to find our courage and prepare ourselves for battle. But you've done so quite elegantly and beautifully in this artful post.
"The Lost Princess" may have sold only a handful of copies; this post may reach only a handful of readers. But, for those with ears to hear, it's a clarion call of remarkable force.
What lovely reflections and charming illustrations for Mothers Day! Happy Belated Mama's Day Karen--so meeehny nuggets of wisdom here... I do believe we have (packed away since our move!) at least one George MacDonald book of fairy tales and the WONDERFUL book (mebbe ya know it?) The Light Princess! Yes, "moral tales" are not peecee today an' that's a darned shame that morality "offends."
Sure, sometimes they kin seem harsh--blindness? yup... Edith Blyton (love 'er lots) sometimes goes a bit dark in that direction--she's a'nuther great illustrator too like yerself! An' many (many!) of her stories are delightful an' priceless. Beatrix Potter too... But the thing is, children (an' grownups) DO learn with cautionary an' moral tales--"Grimm" as they kin be (un-softened). Fergit where but some academic wrote a fine article on how ya don't wanna "rewrite" the fairy tales to coddle young'uns too much--of course ya don't wanna have stories too dark like some are today (immoral too)--but if ya remove all the risk an' even the sinister stuff (evil witches, man-eatin' dragons, some bad fate of the selfish brother...etc) then you cannot celebrate the resilience of those that overcome fear an' survive the tasks before them. Stories all help us better prepare fer life--in a good way!
What happened ta that poor girl Elizabeth an' the compassion she had fer her mama even after all both've 'em had been thru--it's hard ta reconcile--armed robbery is purdy strong stuff. I hope she, like Rosamund, ended up "found" after bein' "lost." Surely ya helped her much along the way!
I too see ungrateful privileged young'uns havin' no clue what they're shoutin' about--an' yet wantin' Israel wiped off the map, an' yet feel "connected' to similar fools resentin' when the caterer isn't swift enuf or when their demands are not met immediately. I heard some of the fool stew-dents at Columbia tore up their diplomas. My golly. Either they're so rich that piece'o'paper has no meanin' ta them cuz their famblies'll put 'em in a cushy job or they're trust fund babies(?)--or they got no idear they just cut off their noses ta spite their faces.
Bein' mamas, we've all seen our kiddos not be properly appreciative or respectful--an' we don't let it slide (never forced any fake thanks but always made sure my displeasure was clear an' that makin' stuff right some-howz was not optional). If parents ain't settin' good examples or insistin' on some morals--we're gone ta h-e-double-toothpicks in a handbasket.
We collect ol' Victorian story books (when cheap, lol, now they'ze spendy) an' the moral tales are well-enjoyed an' if sometimes preachy, heck, we could use a little preachiness sometimes, no?
blessin's yer way on mama's day! hope ya enjoyed it an' gota little break from all yer research an' writin'!
Poignant. Happy Mothers Day 💐
Thank you!
Thank you for the audio - it was a good way today for me to take this in. Happy Mother’s Day.
Thank you.
Thank you.
🙏💐
Thank you so much for sharing this. I so Very much Love your artwork as well as your stories 💕
♥️
Happy Mother's Day to you. The Lost Princess is the first of your books that I've collected, and I like it very much. I found a very clean copy but I'll admit I have put a few wear marks on it. Oh well, it does get read.
Thank you for your continuing courage in writing the truth when it seems to be the least favored thing. It's hard to imagine, isn't it, that we would deliberately hide the truth, when it's plain to see. But, here we are... So, thank you.
Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement. God bless you. I'm so glad you found a copy of The Lost Princess!
Loved this. Especially what you said about fear...
Yes, I had to put that in there, it's so important.
*fear and doing your work regardless
Happy Mother’s Day Karen❣️. Once again, you deeply touched my heart. Your illustrations are exquisite. I found myself marveling that not only are you a brilliant writer, you are also an artist! The illustrations alone are the kind that would have drawn me to the book as a child. The wonderful story, enhanced by your rich, magical illustrations would have made me want to crawl through the page into the cottage of the wise woman and never leave.
There are those special times in life when we unexpectedly find ourselves in the presence of the “wise woman.” If we are fortunate, she becomes our mentor for a time. The wisest will gently hand us The Mirror, knowing that those who are earnest about learning, may become horrified by what we find, once we become willing to look deeply into ourselves. The process of learning who we are, is often painful, especially when we begin to find our “shadow,” or those hidden parts within, which we firmly believed could never be lurking inside of us. Discovering that some of those areas by which we judge others most harshly are also imbedded in us, can be mortifying. The truly wise woman then becomes the safe container, enabling us to explore long enough to turn some of the painful insights into a newly found courage, which leads to developing understanding. and empathy. She teaches us that the acknowledgment of our humanness can provide us with tools which allow us to both recognize and understand those most undesirable traits, such as entitlement, fear, hatred, rage, and to choose not to allow them to be expressed when we see glimpses of them wanting to react. Through understanding, we then gain the power to make the choice to be grateful instead of entitled, to understand the behaviors we detest in order to exorcise them out of our soul. We may find ourselves facing a festering mob and attempt to defuse it in spite of our fear. If we cannot defuse it and the group changes into a mob, we can choose to not participate in their destruction while finding other methods to hopefully change the minds of those participants. We may fail to change the minds of others, but we will at least have the knowledge that we did everything we could by trying. I guess that’s a time when we might choose to become “the resistance.” Or, as you expressed, somehow gather all these protesting “students,” and take them to a place filled with wise people, in order to re-educate them, or to be more accurate, deprogram them.
I mentioned above, that as a child, once I crawled into the picture, I would never want to leave that perfectly cozy cottage or the wise woman. Yet once the wise woman imparted her knowledge, she took the princess back to the castle. It inevitably works the same way for the student or seeker. The mentor must walk us back to the doorway which opens into the stark world. The world becomes our proving ground. The little princess proved herself once she returned to the castle. Her test was not easy, yet she willingly embraced it.
Your story about the girl in detention moved me to tears as well. You made her empathy and deep love for her mother palpable. And your illustration conveyed the feelings not able to be covered by words.
I am going to find “The Lost Princess.” It’s an important book. It’s the kind of book that builds character in the children who read it. It’s a tragic day when classics become too “white” or too anything. The message is deep and universal regardless of its packaging. We are living in a tragic day…tragic, frightening times. Too many character building and mind expanding books (the building blocks to learning how to think) are being thrown off the shelves to be replaced with frightening propaganda…but I certainly do not need to tell you that!
I’m sending a copy of this essay to my friend who is another individual who courageously works hard in spite of fear brought about by exhaustion and dealing with life’s difficult circumstances.
Your observations of fear and courage were quotable and the last quote of your essay was powerful. It is where I believe we are finding ourselves these days. May our Angel not be too gentle!
I hope that this Mother’s Day is a truly happy one for you.
Thank you for the gift of this essay and for sharing your beautiful book and valuable insight. I can’t wait to find “The Lost Princess.”
Thank you so much. So beautifully said. It's true that we cannot stay in safe places forever, we must find the courage to face harsh, cold reality and being some warmth and kindness there.
Thank you for your wise words. The opening quote took me a while to make sense of. Now I see that it could grace a banner fluttering over the campus mobs naively celebrating their victory over the wicked Zionist students.
Thank you also for your willingness to warn us that harsher days lie ahead. No one from Paul Revere to Gandolf Stormcrow to Jabotinsky has ever endeared himself to his audience by heralding the coming storm. Nor by alerting us that we need to find our courage and prepare ourselves for battle. But you've done so quite elegantly and beautifully in this artful post.
"The Lost Princess" may have sold only a handful of copies; this post may reach only a handful of readers. But, for those with ears to hear, it's a clarion call of remarkable force.
Beautiful truths- thank you.
What lovely reflections and charming illustrations for Mothers Day! Happy Belated Mama's Day Karen--so meeehny nuggets of wisdom here... I do believe we have (packed away since our move!) at least one George MacDonald book of fairy tales and the WONDERFUL book (mebbe ya know it?) The Light Princess! Yes, "moral tales" are not peecee today an' that's a darned shame that morality "offends."
Sure, sometimes they kin seem harsh--blindness? yup... Edith Blyton (love 'er lots) sometimes goes a bit dark in that direction--she's a'nuther great illustrator too like yerself! An' many (many!) of her stories are delightful an' priceless. Beatrix Potter too... But the thing is, children (an' grownups) DO learn with cautionary an' moral tales--"Grimm" as they kin be (un-softened). Fergit where but some academic wrote a fine article on how ya don't wanna "rewrite" the fairy tales to coddle young'uns too much--of course ya don't wanna have stories too dark like some are today (immoral too)--but if ya remove all the risk an' even the sinister stuff (evil witches, man-eatin' dragons, some bad fate of the selfish brother...etc) then you cannot celebrate the resilience of those that overcome fear an' survive the tasks before them. Stories all help us better prepare fer life--in a good way!
What happened ta that poor girl Elizabeth an' the compassion she had fer her mama even after all both've 'em had been thru--it's hard ta reconcile--armed robbery is purdy strong stuff. I hope she, like Rosamund, ended up "found" after bein' "lost." Surely ya helped her much along the way!
I too see ungrateful privileged young'uns havin' no clue what they're shoutin' about--an' yet wantin' Israel wiped off the map, an' yet feel "connected' to similar fools resentin' when the caterer isn't swift enuf or when their demands are not met immediately. I heard some of the fool stew-dents at Columbia tore up their diplomas. My golly. Either they're so rich that piece'o'paper has no meanin' ta them cuz their famblies'll put 'em in a cushy job or they're trust fund babies(?)--or they got no idear they just cut off their noses ta spite their faces.
Bein' mamas, we've all seen our kiddos not be properly appreciative or respectful--an' we don't let it slide (never forced any fake thanks but always made sure my displeasure was clear an' that makin' stuff right some-howz was not optional). If parents ain't settin' good examples or insistin' on some morals--we're gone ta h-e-double-toothpicks in a handbasket.
We collect ol' Victorian story books (when cheap, lol, now they'ze spendy) an' the moral tales are well-enjoyed an' if sometimes preachy, heck, we could use a little preachiness sometimes, no?
blessin's yer way on mama's day! hope ya enjoyed it an' gota little break from all yer research an' writin'!
TY KGM. If I had my way KHM would be required for the Poison Icy creatures to read your essays.
Blessed with encouragement once again through your writing. Thankyou so much
Beautiful illustration!