Ever have that dream of finding yourself naked in a meeting room full of people? Ever since Adam and Eve discovered fashion – i.e., clothing – it’s so prevalent that it’s a cliché in many cultures. Although in true global sensibility, there are still a people or two left whose nightmare would be getting caught in clothing….
That being said – I’m in the naked dream mode.
Now, what does finding yourself au naturel have to do with self-awareness? You guessed it: I’m still on that theme….
EVERYTHING!!! Because the most famous expression of that thought was captured by Hans Christian Andersen in his famous story – “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”
You all know the narrative – the “magic” thread that could only be seen by those who were worthy or smart; the fear that the Emperor’s advisors had of not seeing the cloth; the fear that the Emperor had; the famous march in the streets where the buck-naked Emperor is finally called to task by a young boy who yells out that the Emperor has no clothes on; the realization by everyone that they had been swindled; and then the grand finale – he either runs back embarrassed or continues walking in state to the procession’s inevitable conclusion.
Listen:
And the crowd was stilled. One elderly man, wondering at the sudden silence, turned to the Child and asked him to repeat what he had said. Wide-eyed, the Child raised his voice and said once again, “Why, the Emperor has no clothes! He is naked!”
–The Emperor’s New Clothes
And here is the question – had he truly developed self-awareness at the end – what would, what should he have done? Continued gamely forward as if all were in order; stopped and acknowledged his foolish appearance, as humiliating as it was; run back in shame to the palace?
What’s your take – how would you end the tale? What would your moral be?
To help you, follow the links below…
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1620.html#andersen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGDr69VOv6g
By the way – the story exists in one form or another all over the world…
I would have ended the story with the Emperor getting a fab new sponsors and great new clothes and not taxing the empire to look good!
Dr. Letitia Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
http://wrightplacetv.com
http://www.twitter.com/drwright1
He still would have taxed the people……
One remembers that life seems to be very expensive, nevertheless different people require cash for different things and not every one earns enough money. Thus to receive some business loans or just short term loan would be a proper way out.