“People who’ve never read fairy tales, the professor said, have a harder time coping in life than the people who have. They don’t have access to all the lessons that can be learned from the journeys through the dark woods and the kindness of strangers treated decently, the knowledge that can be gained from the company and example of Donkeyskins and cats wearing boots and steadfast tin soldiers. I’m not talking about in-your-face lessons, but more subtle ones. The kind that seep up from your sub¬conscious and give you moral and humane structures for your life. That teach you how to prevail, and trust. And maybe even love.”
Charles de Lint, The Onion Girl
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
Albert Einstein
I like it. Developing a child’s imagination is key to developing creativity - something Einstein also saw as critical to success. I think it also helps them develop an ability to differentiate between reality and fantasy. And that should help them see the reality of the fantasy of religion.
Such an under-rated key to living a sane, constructive living.
Seems to me, that fantasy is a key part of our existence, and that knowing where the line is between fantasy, and real people & living moments, is a valuable skill.
Appreciating that attempts to turn fantasy into reality are usually doomed to failures with cascading destructive consequences, so it’s best to respect the divide, and leave one’s fantasies within their respective niche’.