That it might encourage passive behavior... but in fact, it didn't encourage me to be passive, but rather to quell the voice of needless anxiety in my head.

In the best fairy tales, help usually comes to people who have been proactive enough to deserve it, too: helping the old lady who's actually a fairy, releasing the trapped animal who promises to help in return some day, etc. etc. Which, actually, would make another interesting post, since the trait being rewarded isn't strength or intelligence, but kindness. (Unless you're talking about stories involving huli jing, where they'll exploit your kindness or punish your meanness and reward your intelligence, but that's maybe a cultural difference from the European and Slavic kindness-rewarding tales.)

But I digress. I'm glad you liked both this post and the one from Hurley -- that was one of the coolest posts on the subject I'd read!