Let Me Know

The other night, I couldn't sleep. My body would not shut down and neither would my mind. I was running on thoughts. I realized that I have never made a particular statement. Since that sleepless night, it has occured to me that even though the statement is true, I have no right to make it.

I've noticed that the stereotypical 4-year-old girl is dressed as a princess, waving her wand, keeping her kingdom in order. The stereotypical 4-year-old boy would be wearing a red firefighter's helmet, pushing a matching toy fire engine. In his imagination, perhaps he's climbing the ladder to reach the top floor of the burning building and snatch a trapped soul away from the flames. I can't help but think of the prince, waking Aurora from the spell in the tallest tower, as she lay helpless and cornered by the fire-breathing dragon. C.S. Lewis's Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve were kings and queens, they were children, and Narnia experienced peace and joy during their reign. At the sight of a tiara, there's something inside every female that always leaps toward it, while the rest of her holds her back. There's something about the idea of living in a palace that is attractive, thus we see mansions continue to appear in rather obscure locations as well as in everyday scenery, and always, always in the stories of the culture. The average American's house is more luxurious than the homes of most of the Kings of the world. Does this knowledge cause you to look at your home any differently? At your lifestyle any differently? At your life any differently?


Every human being is in fact royalty. We are born believing it, but we are taught to compare ourselves to the people around us. We allow ourselves to be jaded into living as if we're all the same. But we were made for more than what we know.

We begin to judge ourselves by what we own, where we come from, where we're going, our intelligence, our habits, what we do, who we know, what other people say or think about us, etc. And we continue to judge others and judge ourselves, and create an image for who we want to become. We forget who we are now, and how to see that it is good. We forget what good looks like. And we wonder why we are not content. And our attempt to create happiness for ourselves continues.

"As time rolls by
my dreams have become
that which is attainable:
not what I'm looking for!"
~ "Company Car"

There's a scene in the movie "The Little Princess" where Sarah, the rich motherless girl from India, argues with Miss Minchin, the head of the boarding school to which Sarah was sent by her father when he enlisted. He has since gone missing in action. Miss Minchin has just mocked Sarah's stories she would tell the other girls of being an Indian princess, as Sarah is currently a servant, dressed in poor clothes, living in a drafty attic, not allowed to socialize with anyone. The following is Sarah's response to Miss Minchin's stinging insults: "I AM a princess! ALL girls are. Even if they're dressed in rags, even if they aren't pretty or smart or young, they're still princesses! All of us. Didn't your father ever tell you that? DIDN'T HE?"

In "Braveheart", there's a scene where the Prince bribes Wallace to end the crusade he began against oppression, tyranny, and injustice, by offering him lands, the title of a Noble, whatever he may ask for. Wallace turns around and responds: "Now tell me, what does that mean to be Noble?"

It's not titles, or property, or power. It's none of these materials we fill our loveless and numbered days with. It's none of the pursuits I see in the lonely and lost eyes of the wandering people in this city, as they spin, victimized in the circles they themselves create. The desire is there, the fulfillment is not. The desire to be something, or someone, greater.

Man has declared the pursuit of happiness a right. Because the pursuit of true happiness means the pursuit of the right to say "I am a Prince." or "I am a Princess." Not a Prince or Princess in the sense of paparazzi, and scandal, and fleets of jets, and diamond adornments in every crack and crevice of the body. No, a true royal would see that less is more, they would not think it below themselves to become a servant. Willing self-surrender and honor are inseparable. Similar to God and freedom. No one can earn the right to claim to be a true Princess or Prince, because it's a gift freely received, and the price was the highest.

I am pursuing the right. I know I'll never deserve it. But I know there's better than what I see. And if there's not, I would rather spend my life pursuing this dream than settling for this otherwise lifeless world.


"Let me know that You hear me.
Let me know Your touch.
Let me know that You love me,
and let that be enough."
~ "Let That Be Enough"