I had a friend who collected dragons ... all kinds ... pewter, glass, porcelain ... I asked her why and she showed me a replica of an old map where on the edges, there was a saying that said, "There be dragons" ... She said she liked the idea of the early explorers going out beyond the edge where "there be dragons" to see what they could see ... to find what there might be out there in the land of dragons ...
Her explanation made me smile back then and the memory of it today made me smile again when I read this:
The End Of Our Exploring
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
~T. S. Eliot
When we live our lives authentically, we discover our true place in the world for the first time. But this self-knowledge is not easily acquired. It takes tenacity and daring to travel to the darkest interior of one's self. Who knows what we may find there? "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near them," the writer J. R. R. Tolkien advises.
Our dragons are our fears: our day stalkers, our night sweats. Fear of the unknown. Fear of starting something new and not finishing. Again. Or the real fear, the one that sends shivers up our spines; the fear of succeeding, of becoming our authentic selves and facing the changes that will inevitably bring. We might not be happy with the way we are living now, but at least it's safely familiar.
We don't know where we are headed and it's very scary. Old dreams are resurrecting, new desires are wooing. Instead of clarity, we feel confused. At moments like this, it is comforting to consider T. S. Eliot's belief that there is really nothing to fear from self-awareness because at the end of all our personal exploration, we will arrive back where we started and know in our hearts that we finally belong there.
Women have always known how to deal with dragons hiding under beds or lurking in closets. We turn on the lights and reassure worried souls with LOVE. We need to slay the dragons in our minds the same way.
Today, if you feel frightened or unsure about the future, pick up the double-edged sword of LIGHT and LOVE. Always remember, it's simply not an adventure worth telling if there aren't any dragons, But as in the best old tales, at the end of your exploring, you will live happily ever after.
- (An excerpt from: SIMPLE ABUNDANCE - A DAYBOOK of COMFORT and JOY by Sarah Ban Breathnach)
Do you ever have one of those moments when so many things seem to be coming together at one time?
I read this entry this morning with my cup of tea and smiled at the reminder of my friend who moved away years ago and wondered what dragons she was slaying today ... The T. S. Eliot quote reminded me of what I used to say, "Wherever you go, there you are!" because it made no sense to worry about what we should have done or where we are supposed to be ... when we obviously are where we are supposed to be or we wouldn't be here ... dragons, stalkers, night sweats, worries ... other names for the fears we all wrestle with in one way or another ... not to downplay a single one of those wrestling matches ... Facing our fear is never EASY! FEARS stop us, but they don't have to! LOVE and LIGHT will bring us through ...
I renamed this journal LOVE and LIGHT from HEALING Creek only a week ago and today, this entry was confirmation (a little God Wink) that I had chosen the right name ... even before I fully understood the significance ... that LOVE and LIGHT can help us deal with our fears and lead us to that HEALING place inside each of us ... (smiling) ... so from me to you ...
LOVE and LIGHT from HEALING Creek,
Taylor
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