#minds #myphoto #poetry #photography #blog As children, the cartoons and movies we watched helped shape the perceptions we had about ourselves and about each other. I identified with superheroes, princesses and the Care Bears. I believed I had superpowers, I believed that somehow even though my start in life was a bit crappy, by some stroke of luck I'd garner the attention of a distinguished fellow, who would seek me out and change my circumstances. Lastly, I believed I could beam my love & care toward someone and it would cure them of whatever anger or evil they possessed as did the Care Bears. Fairy-tale movies in particular began shaping my ideals and future interaction with the opposite sex unbeknownst to me. Fairy-tale movies had three components real life didn't; romance, adventure, and a happy ending where love always overcame the obstacles standing in its way. I'm sure I'm not alone, in focusing in on these three things as it pertained to how my future interactions and relationships would be. After all, women innately have a need and desire to be protected, provided for and chosen. Men naturally want to impress, provide for and feel needed by the woman they love and are with. Recently as I was watching the Disney movie, The Little Mermaid, I looked a little closer at its fairy-tale story-line, and I began to remember all the other fairy-tale story-lines I've watched and loved from childhood. I realized there are real, practical love lessons in these fairy-tales that I missed altogether. Maybe, had I been able to grasp them earlier, they might have helped me navigate better in relationships and in love. Below are three very necessary love lessons I took from fairy-tale story-lines. They are lessons we still need to learn as adults. These three lessons in love are now really needed in our new world culture of instant gratification. Our picture of what it means to love is terribly distorted because selfish, manipulative love messaging is being projected.