Ariel's Dilemma

A few weeks ago, my little niece, Kaylee, loaned me two of her Disney Princess figurines. One of them was Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), who graciously stood in for Cinderella in one of my prior "whimsy" Blips. The second was Ariel, the Little Mermaid. I promised my niece that Ariel would also get her day in the sun. And so this Blip was created to make Kaylee smile.

On this morning, Ariel's grand adventure was to come along with us to one of our very most favorite places in the whole wide world. Which is to say the lily pond (formally known as the lotus pool) at the Arboretum at Penn State. The surface of the lily pond is a wonderful place to watch the morning reflections unfold, and I am there often at dawn or as closely after as I can make it, kneeling down with my camera, watching the sky on water.

And so Ariel joined us on this day, and she and the Crittergators stood along the edge of the lily pond with me, watching the day unfold. I didn't realize until I saw her face the dilemma that I had put her in. For in her current manifestation, Ariel has become a real girl with legs and feet, wearing a dress. But in her original form, Ariel was born a mermaid. And I could sense the siren song of the waters, calling to her to come back home. (I admit that I myself have heard this song, and felt the pull to join this underwater world.)

I do not know what choice Ariel will make. But I hope that in the end, she is true to herself, and picks the life that she wants, the one that will result in her happiness and fulfillment, rather than a life chosen for her by someone else, or chosen to please someone else. Whatever choice she makes, those loyal and kind-hearted Crittergators and I will support it.

This Blip is dedicated to those who may be facing tough decisions, whatever they may be. The song to accompany the picture is the Diana Ross classic, Do You Know Where You're Going To? For if you don't know, or if you don't like the direction you're headed, today is a new day, with the opportunity to choose for yourself a path different from the one you've been on. It is. I promise. It is your right and your responsibility. It is a gift of the morning: the chance to begin again.

Go ahead and make the leap, dear one, if your heart tells you that's the choice that is right for you. . . .