Article September 3, 1990 Issue

How we can pop the bubble

Even when problems seem to have us surrounded or trapped, the way out is near at hand.

Lynn A. Gray Jackson

Recently I heard a professional storyteller tell a story of a bubble and a king. Briefly, the story relates that there once was a giant, beautiful bubble. All the townspeople were astonished at its grandeur. When the king came, however, he called the bubble "trouble." Immediately the bubble engulfed the king, and he couldn't get out. His three knights used their fearsome weapons to try to pop the bubble, but to no avail.

At last a little girl saw the bubble and walked up to see its grandeur and beauty. The townspeople warned that the bubble was "trouble" —the king had said so! But the little girl was not deceived by what others thought or feared. She replied to the townspeople, "It's a bubble, and if you treat it like a bubble, it will act like a bubble." She then touched the giant, beautiful bubble very softly—and it popped!

To the king the bubble was trouble. He saw it as trouble. He believed it was trouble. And hence, he experienced it as trouble. It was an impenetrable problem to him and to those who believed as he did. But to the little girl, who knew the facts and wasn't fooled by what others said and believed, the bubble was a bubble, and she proved this by popping it.

Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.

Send a comment to the editors
NEXT IN THIS ISSUE
Poem
Somewhere in you
September 3, 1990
Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit