Every year, around this time, I watch the 1995 version of A Little Princess.
It stirs me. Or as it's theme song says, it kindles my heart. Kindled. Sensations awakened.
My favorite part of this magical time of year is the dancing of leaves down the street and through yards. Leaves seem to take on a life of their own and they seem to follow such a beautifully orchestrated pattern. A thrill rushes through me each time I see it.
In this movie, Sarah helps all of the girls around her realize the existence of magic and the joy of knowing that every girl is a princess.
For a while, she forgets. Her senses are dulled by the dreariness and ache of existing.
I sob and cry every time. If you watch this movie without crying, you must call me. We need to talk.But it's not all sappy tears. There is plenty of laughter. And plenty of inspiration.
But I'm not trying to sell the movie. I'm trying to sell you on magical leaves. I'm trying to make sure no one forgets the absolute assurance that you had as a kid that there were faeries in the woods, that the front lawn really was sometimes covered in sparkling diamonds that disappeared when the sun came all the way up, that your favorite stuffed animals took tea while you were at school. Remember?
If you need some prompting, go watch A Little Princess
, or Hook
, or The Secret Garden
. Not just any Secret Garden....get the Hallmark version. Let it remind you about the magic and then put on Mozart's Magic Flute while you go back and read the original out loud to the kids.And if you have any other favorite things that make you feel the magic, please share.
.
3 comments:
It drives me crazy, too, but I can't think of a better word. Danny winces whenever I use it. I've looked, but nothing else seems to describe what you're talking about here so well. The magic and mystery of childhood is such a beautiful thing. I wish more people would continue to see the world with the eyes of a child. We grow up and think we have to put away that childlike sense of wonder and magic. It's a magic that has absolutely nothing to do with wizards and spells and everything to do with the beauty that God put into this world for His children to enjoy. I get such a thrill when I see creatures at work in nature, whether it is a hawk swooping in for its prey or a spider spinning its web. This is true "magic".
And don't you know that there really are fairies, Jenn? They aren't at all like the tiny, winged people pictured in most fairy tales. Many of them scoot along the forest floor on six or eight legs. They are just as beautiful in their own way. Is it so strange that we anthromorphize the tiny forest people in our imaginations to look and live like us and have emotions similar to our own or that we make up splendid stories about them? God did give us wonderful, imaginative brains.
I have not seen the Hallmark version of The Secret Garden. I will have to check that out sometime. I love that version of the little princess, we have it on video :) And Hook is pretty awesome too!! :)
I love those movies as well. I love the feeling that you get when you watch them...that expectation of something great is the only way I can describe it. I can clearly remember being a little girl again and truly believing that it can happen.
Sigh.
I need to buy those movies for Laura Grace...
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