Zero In on the Problem

A Colorless Life
Week #4 Black & White

A Colorless Life

(Week #4 Black and White)

 In one version of this tale the last line the fish says is “Wilt thou be the lord on high? Then back with thee to thy pig-sty.”  And at the very end of the story the last line reads … “There they are to this day.”

So I decided to zero in on the problem. Let’s look at the couple today … put them in the spot light. I imagine they are still fishing and still hoping to catch again the magic fish or some other enchanted creature. Because in their world it’s all about The Golden Fish. It is clear that the only way to get ahead is to get lucky and to get lucky means catching the Enchanted Fish Prince and start demanding wishes.

The prompt this week is black and white. Light and dark, opposites and contrary are all synonyms associated with the idea of black and white. The Fisherman and his Wife seem to be opposites, but are they really? The wife is the Fisherman’s anima and she exemplifies his inner feminine. In the story, she gets the job done where he hasn’t been very effective. She makes demands and he goes along with her requests. Today I suppose she greets him daily and asks if he has seen the Golden Fish? The two of them are still stuck in a colorless world, only the Golden fish shines.

If this story were a dream, the fish might represent spirituality and the Fisherman could be seeking patience and understanding. He is plumbing the depths of his own subconscious in order to find spiritual food. The wife is only interested in material things and positions of power. In this way, she is not looking after his inner feminine. They are acting contrary.

Looking at the other symbols as part of this dream the Sea often represents the realm of emotions. Emotions are  life – sustaining, cleansing and healing. Only the Ocean demonstrates the story’s main emotions. The Fish does not. The Fisherman grumbles and the Wife demands. Water is life, sacred and healing. The sea is the source of all life, the unfathomable. It also symbolizes infinite wisdom. The Ocean is associated with the Tao and the Great Mother.

Nature in its divine wisdom, knows that things are out of balance and makes the needed correction. If the couple wants their life to change, they must stop expecting magic. They must work together in a positive way, they need to recognize their emotions and accept that they are not the center of the universe. They must change their greediness into generosity and their dissatisfaction in to joy. They must learn to balance their opposites.