Day 109: Because, running away isn't working.-- Penny

Because, running away isn't working.-- Penny, The Rescuers

This somewhat sad, yet true, quote comes to us when Penny says her nightly prayers on the boat Madame Medusa has her on in The Devil's Bayou. She keeps trying to escape and run away, but Medusa's gators keep catching her and bringing her back.

Because of her situation, Penny had the right idea to try and get/run away. She tried to send multiple "Send Help" messages in a bottle, but did not have any luck getting freed.  She was kidnapped from Morningside Orphanage, held against her will, forced to look for a huge diamond called "The Devil's Eye" and was made to think no one would want an orphan, especially one like her, by Madame Medusa.  However, it's not always the best to run away.

Have you ever felt of running away from a situation or from certain people? Perhaps, when you were a child and did not like the rules your parents set for you to follow, you threatened to do it.  I know I threatened it as a kid a time or two, but I never followed through because I love my parents too much and because I would miss my mom's awesome cooking. Well that and I knew how much trouble I'd be in if I did when I came back. Perhaps you're running away from certain feelings or people, the way Simba in The Lion King did as a cub because Scar told him to run away and never return after the death of Mufasa.  Simba was lead to believe one thing but the truth was another and he had to face the harsh reality of things when he returned as an adult.

There's a super fine line between leaving and running away. The biggest diffrence is when you run away you are trying to get away from something or someone out of fear, like when you're afraid of finding out the truth about something or someone and you don't want to hear it in any form. Leaving, on the other hand, is done by choice because you know that the environment is not good for you or that person is not good for you to be around. You may leave it and never return or you may leave it and return only to realize why you left in the first place only to leave again. Let's say you stop being friends with someone because they kept making you feel bad and twisting things so that they looked better than what was really going on and you don't say anything to that former friend. That is leaving. Likewise, if it's a family member doing the same thing and you stop talking to them or having anything to do with them, it's not running away from them, but leaving them, whic h I know is a sad reality for some people. The toxic person may spin the situation so you're running away from them, but you're not. 

You can also run away from your own feelings too. Say there's this person you really really like, or maybe have fallen in love with, but they don't know it. You might think to yourself you're not worthy of their love or that they wouldn't want someone who has faults like yours.  Perhaps you're afraid of them rejecting you and you don't want to take that risk because your heart's been hurt before. So you don't persue it. Perhaps you're so afraid of being alone that no one would want you that you settle for someone who controls your every move and makes you only think you're in love with them, but in reality you just love their companionship not them as a whole person. Maybe you got some really good advice that you needed to hear but didn't want to take it. So you ignore it as best as you can, but it has a funny way of coming back to you making you take it. Proving that running away from your feelings doesn't work at all.

So until next time, always do your best to not run away and Keep Cooking with Character!