The Path Back: Maya and the Three

CHA-CHUNG

Fairytales are Horror stories.

Have you read them? All the fairytales. Not just Grimm Fairytales, but nursery rhymes, parables, history. How about the kid's tales from the Bible? Noah, David and Goliath, Samson and Deliah? Every one of these stories we tell and retell, our children, are horror stories. Why?

To prepare them for the real world. That's why. The world is beyond a parent's control. Sometimes beyond the security of a community of like-minded people. If the parents don't warn the kids about the dangers, these idiots would walk off cliffs and eat toxic dirt. They are children and do not understand consequences. We also don't want to instill fear into them, so they never take chances or leave home. At some point they must grow up and leave. They must go live their own life and have their own adventures. So, we begin their development with light stuff. The monster in the closet or the bogey man in the dark corner, these night terrors are a huge part of child development. Then, as they grow, we introduce concepts like death and sacrifice. This is a part of life as much as anything else. Protecting kids from these truths is a deep mistake.

Being a part of a Monarchy or an Aristocratic group of people is not all it's cracked up to be. We are led to believe that wealth will solve all problems. Having a crown means complete freedom to do whatever you want or go wherever you want, whenever you want, and do it in complete luxury. Queens and princesses have no cares or responsibilities except to provide children, preferably sons. Kings and princes don't care about their people or kingdom. They never have to worry about consequences or accountability. This is not true. It was never true.

So, now as we move into adulthood, we discover a deeper meaning to all those fairytales and learn new lessons. For example, Mesopotamian Kings had to perform rituals that included self-harm to genitalia. It was believed that blood from the phallus would infuse the land and community with fertile energy and power. Princesses were often sacrificed in multiple ways to ensure the gods were never displeased. Hearts ripped out or left on mountaintops to starve, were all rituals to ensure the community was protected by the gods. In return, the gods protected the people from unseen dangers. This could manifest in anything that they could not explain, disease, animals, foreign invasions, natural disasters. Life was and still is dangerous. Modernly, we don't have rulers performing self-harm rituals on behalf of a community. They still self-harm. Nowadays it's in the form of behaving badly and the intention is pure selfishness. The consequences of these behaviors aren't seen right away or publicly, depending on the activity.

These behaviors don't all come from leaders or rulers. However, when leaders and rulers set a precedence, it gives the monkey permission to repeat that behavior. When a community of people have bad behaviors, the consequences show up in demonic and monstrous ways. One of the truths of Five Night's at Freddy's is that none of the monsters in the franchise are summoned 'from hell' or called from some Lovecraftian abyss in a weird cult ritual. All the evil has been from greedy, fearful people. People who wanted something so badly, they did not think about the consequences, long or short term. People who did not take responsibility or accountability of what they manifested.

A true King/Leader/Ruler will think about his people first. The first of us will sacrifice their own desires to uphold the virtues of good, truth, and beauty of their community they lead. We vote who should represent us and the goodness of our values. The first of us should shine our belonging to the world. The first of us is what we, as a community agree should be the representation of what we are. We should not expect them to be perfect, but they should not be criminal! The first of us represent our battle against these unseen forces.

So what happens in a community that no longer holds these truths? What happens to the community that loses their Heroes in leadership? What happens when the first of us falls into temptation and we lose ownership of accountability and responsibility?

The previously established ideals of identity, value, purpose, and belonging of what we knew heroes were get changed. New heroes are born that look, act, and think, completely different. These people are usually pushed aside and ignored. The community doesn't understand them.  These people accept the rejection and accept that they don't fit into the community, not because there is something wrong with them. It's because the community itself is in malfunction and error within the programming of its group think and behaviors. So, the new people claim extreme ownership of their own lives and begin to lead themselves out the communal paper bag, so to speak. As they do, they begin to set the new standard for a new and better community and world.

If it is to be, then let it be me.

Like most girls, I wanted to be a princess growing up. Then, I changed my mind. I had seen Disney movies. I saw the horror of my sex. I listened to the horror of expectations from religious dogma. I felt the horror of trusting the wrong people. There wasn't protection for me in the real world. The monsters under the bed, in the closet, and in the shadows became friends. They told me they would protect me how they could. They introduced me to my own head. I ran away as fast as I could, into books. These world visions gave me sanctuary. It was there I learned the truth. There was always a such thing as warrior queens and princesses. I also learned that I'm a U.S. citizen. I could be anything I wanted to be. I decided that if I wanted a better life, if I wanted something to be, fate or choice, then it was going to be me! I waited for destiny. Well, that as the same as waiting for a Bearded Dude or a Blue Box to descend from the clouds. No more waiting. No more. It shall be me. I choose. I choose the time. I choose the action. I choose the path. It shall be me. 

 

This was the correct choice. I learned it wasn't my fault my world was wrong. There wasn't a person going to descend from the sky to save me. Not because I didn't deserve it but because it doesn't work that way. If I want to change the world, I must change me. I had to let go of the world I once knew to emerge into the world I wanted to create.

If you want to lead, you must first lead from where you stand. You must learn to lead yourself. When you are alone, when you have nothing to gain, face forward and say, "It doesn't matter because this is right action." You must do this as often as possible. It wasn't perfect. I made mistakes. Somedays, I didn't get out of bed. Many consecutive days, weeks, and months, all I did was cry and feel pain. Some days, I only made a single step. But eventually, it did pay off. I made it through. I found strength, grace, and gratitude.

Maya and the Three is about a princess and a community who face a destiny together. Its about sacrifice, ownership, and true leadership. This series reminded me and replenished me. I cried as she became the sun because I was in there somewhere, being lifted up. This show is a gift of kindness, compassion, humanity, and belonging. I cannot express the depth of my gratitude or the humbleness I feel to have this precious gift of belonging.

Thank you