Playing with Dragons
“If you want to slay a dragon, you only have to see one. If want to play with dragons, you know you have to be one.”
Stephen Atkins
Last night we watched the second Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug, as we are on a Lord of the Rings marathon, having competed our Star Wars marathon, as of recent. As we went to bed, Steve was saying how dragons had it hard, and that people did not understand them; the general perspective of dragons, that there are only a few dragons in the world, and that they live for thousands of years. Us mere humans and dwarfs come and go, and they watch us deplete the natural resources of their mountains and home. But, what is a dragon in our tangible world of existence? I have thought before that dragons are very real, and are streams of communal consciousness, like clouds in the sky, where we gather movements of dreams and ethos collectively into streams of moisture and fog in the outer atmosphere. Deep in meditation, one can tap into these dragons. If a dragon in one’s life were a demon, or an out of control force, all one would need to do to slay the dragon, would be to bring awareness to the demon or dragon. But playing with the demon or dragon takes even more awareness. One must have the ability to not only become aware of their states of mind or challenges in ones life, but they must harness strength in this awareness in order to interface with these inner demons, and not lose themselves to the darkness. To have the inner strength and awareness to play with other dragons, one must be even more inventive, and take their spiritual journey to a much deeper place.
In Alcoholics Anonymous, I have encountered this. One can bring awareness to their drinking problem, and quit, thus slaying their own demon or dragon. But step twelve tells us that we need to bring help to those that still suffer. In truth, our inner dragon never leaves us, hence us never relinquishing the label of alcoholic. In order to become a true bodhisattva, a being that sacrifices themselves in order for others to experience and achieve enlightenment, while laying down their actual body and existence in order to bridge the gap of suffering, one must reclaim the memory of their experience and suffering, and become truly humble. Yes, you can slay the dragon, and take your place on the throne, and many of us believe that this is the ultimate goal of our feeble existences. Some of us choose another path, and we stay in the game. Another beautiful analogy for “playing with dragons”, is the idea of a doorway to heaven. Some Christians gather in their churches and gloat over how many years that they have known christ, or have been followers of christ. But some of us stay just outside of the door in order to show the way for others. The truth is that those that have not yet entered the kingdom of heaven, or have yet to achieve enlightenment, are our teachers. They are the gift.
And yet, I am not sure that this is actually what a dragon is. Perhaps a dragon is our collective anima or animus that stays in the fight for thousands of years or for millennia. Perhaps our faults are what teach us, and guide us. Perhaps it is the sin in our nature or our acts of free will that make us an individual person or species, and without these aspects of our selves or our collective beings, we actually would not grow or become greater beings. Becoming a dragon is what helps us interface with the darkest aspects of our consciousness. That darkness is there to teach us, and to help us evolve. So it is not the goal to vanquish this darkness, but rather to become a dragon oneself, and interface, or play with this deeper darker willful place while gaining and retaining intelligence and awareness.
The goal is to be a dragon, and to play with other dragons. The goal is not to win the race and rescue the treasure beneath the mountain. The point is to befriend the beast. We must thus continue down the road with what seems like nothing, no treasure to sustain us, but what we have actually gained is integrity, strength, and true awareness of the nature and the dragons of our existence and our planet. So, when one comes across a stranger in the world, they may be an angel in disguise, or perhaps they are a fellow dragon. We must find a way to play with, and not vanquish them, for they have much to teach our humbled selves.