A Quest Most Worthy

I passed through the seven levels of the candy cane forest,
through the sea of swirly-twirly gum drops,
and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel.

-Buddy, Elf

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How should we view Buddy’s journey? Was it a childish case of imagination running too wild? Or, was it the epic quest he frames it as? An odyssey of a stranger in a strange land, requiring strength, determination, and perseverance? Canonically, perhaps a bit of this and a bit of that.

Now, is this the right question to be asking? Let’s ignore perception and focus only on Buddy’s account. From this perspective, we do not see a folly. We see a herculean task, a badge of honour, earned and worn proudly. Buddy’s journey was a legitimate step out of his comfort zone and into the unknown, and it was one which left him a stronger, braver, and more capable man-elf. In what way could we possibly criticise this?

Where does this disconnect come from? How is it that a feat of such strength of character can be waved away as ‘silly’? It seems that the difference in perceptions is the result of greeting Buddy’s sincerity with New York’s cynicism. Buddy has come from a place where magic and whimsy are commonplace. More than this, he has come with an understanding of the truth, knowledge of what he must do. The world he has stepped into just does not understand him.

We regularly find ourselves in Buddy’s shoes, with goals and plans which we want to act out (albeit, slightly less whimsical ones). Take as an example someone going through driving lessons - they want their licence, they want a car, they want the freedom to drive where they please. We can contrast this against someone who lives in a big city who would ask “that’s daft, just get the subway”. A junior engineer may be studying towards their first cert, while a senior tells them “don’t bother, those don’t mean anything”. “I bought a watch to mark a significant life milestone”, “My phone tells the time”.

These points of view come from different worlds, and without a large reframing taking place, they are simply not compatible.

Cool, so Buddy is simply misunderstood, and our world needs to meet him at his level?

No! Of course not. Why would one of Santa’s elves be in New York City? Why would Santa’s elves be anywhere? If anyone’s first reaction to being approached by this character is to believe him and join his quest, I would argue they haven’t asked enough questions.

Why would someone pay thousands for a car when they could pay a fraction of that to get everywhere they need to go? Why would someone waste months studying for a piece of paper? Why would someone not just pull their phone out? We established that these differences of opinions come about from the meeting of two different worlds. We did not decide anything about which one of these worlds is right. Indeed, neither is right. All we can ask is that some logical chain of thought brought the opinion about - beyond that, we have no right to call anything wrong.

What does this mean for us? To put it in a pretentious way, some quests must be completed alone. We cannot take everyone on every journey. Every endeavour brings about a risk of perception: we may look silly, face disagreements, and feel like no one understands. This is where we must rely on our willpower, our clarity of mind, and on our courage. You are responsible for your goals, and for your ambition. Let it be the making of your own personal legend, regardless of how others perceive it.