Recently we went to see Wicked. I’ll be talking about it eventually.

My thinking, however, skews tangential. My train of thought often jumps the track. It’s a series of loosely related Google searches that eventually leads me back to the start.

Meditating on Elphaba and Glinda, therefore, got me thinking about a handful of cinematic heroines whose names start with “El.”

Last week I talked about Elle Woods from Legally Blonde.

Today I want to talk about Elsa from the 2013 film, Frozen.

Elsa and Anna are sisters, princesses of the Kingdom of Arrendale, daughters of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna.

Elsa, the elder, has the power to create ice and snow, which she uses to dazzle her little sister to no end. While playing one day, Elsa accidentally wounds Anna after slipping on ice she has made, hitting her sister with a shot meant to catch her in midair. To heal her, their parents bring her to a colony of rock trolls, whose leader, Grand Pebble, recommends removing the magic that has harmed Anna, and all memories of magic from her.

And then Grand Pebble says this to Elsa.

“Your power will only grow. There is beauty in it, but also great danger. You must learn to control it. Fear will be your enemy.” Her parents isolate her and decide to keep her powers hidden from everyone.

Once back home, Elsa’s father gives her gloves to help her contain her powers. And he says these words to her.

“The gloves will help. Seal it. Conceal it. Don’t feel it. Don’t let it show.”

And that’s a word for today for anyone who has ever felt the need to hide.

1. We may have been taught we were too much. We were too loud, too emotional, too smart, too outspoken, too enthusiastic, too big, too small. In one way or another, we did not fit in.
2. Society may have said safest thing we can do is keep a secret. Some of them may have had selfish, sinister motives. Others may have thought that this was for our good, the good of our family, and the good of society in general. Keep in mind that the rock trolls in Frozen, and particularly Grand Pebble, have magic powers themselves. Grand Pebble heals Anna. He cleanses her memory. He is not some frightened villager saying magic is evil. He is a practitioner of magic saying, in it’s present form, this isn’t safe for her.
3. Our families, themselves on one level just fearful members of society, may have taught us not how to thrive through our uniqueness, but how to hide from it. King Agurr’s counsel to Elsa goes beyond just hide it from the world. It’s not just “conceal it.” It’s “conceal it, don’t feel it.”

The interesting thing to me is just how different Grand Pebble’s message and King Agurr’s responses are.

Grand Pebble gives Elsa a version of the Spider Man talk. With great power comes great responsibility. Your power is beautiful, but dangerous if used wrong. Learn to use it. Don’t be afraid.

Dad comes along and says, got it. We’re going to pretend this doesn’t exist.

How often has someone positioned to help you grow instead taught you how to hide?

King Agurr offers us a societally familiar, but absolutely _crazy_ solution to the reality of difference. We could say, like Grand Pebble, right now your power is out of control, so you need to learn to use it. For reasons we don’t understand, God planted one rose in a field of orchids. Let’s figure out why. Let’s get you the right teacher. Let’s see where your uniqueness can make a unique mark in the world. Instead we say, the safest thing for you to do is hide. And the safest thing for everyone else is if they forget you even have this power.

How often have your role models taught you how to deaden your emotions to get through life?

How often has a leader, or even a hero told you to go along to get along?

How many kids get put in special ed because they have behavior issues that underpaid, overworked teachers aren’t equipped to handle? How often have culture clashes created collateral damage?

And look, sometimes wisdom involves choosing your moment. You are probably safer filing a lawsuit than punching a cop. You may need to handle your grievance with HR rather than in the parking lot.

But neither of these scenarios involve hiding from the problem. They are about picking the most effective solution.

Swallowing rocks should hurt. We weren’t designed to do it. The people who love us, in a perfect world would tell us to stop. Too often, however, a trusted mentor will tell us they taste better with olive oil.

There was a lot in this movie. I’ll be talking about it for a few days.

For today, though, I pray that do not hide your gifts.

I pray that you don’t stifle your emotions.

And I pray you know that you are not too much of _anything_ to be seen.

You are too beautiful not to.

Stay warm.

(Photo Credit: Egor Kamalev)