I Closed My Eyes and Saw a Dragon
Meditations at a crossroads
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This week I am putting the ideas from my last post into practice. I’ve been embracing play and reframing what I thought of as work. As I cleaned the house, washed the dishes, prepared the kids’ meals, and drove them to school, I began to think differently about these tasks.
I once considered them chores, burdens, a time expenditure, and a roadblock to me ‘having fun’. Each to-do list item felt draining and at times frustrating when I perceived it as endless drudgery. Suddenly, they have transformed into joyous acts of creation. I simply needed to accept them as incremental steps in a beautiful process.
Through my efforts, infused with love, I’m producing outcomes that bring me immense satisfaction: a clean home, delicious fresh food, a happy family, a peaceful life.
I’m grateful for this expanded perspective.
A Poem
To reflect on the contrast we experience in life and find appreciation in the struggle.
I closed my eyes and saw a dragon A writhing mountain of black and purple scales Perched upon a throne of roses and thorns Dancing in violet spirals of fire and mist At a timeless crossroads we stood Left to Damnation Right to Salvation The path a mosaic of my life’s choices In awe, I paused Voice trembling, I asked Who are you? A weaver and reaper of worlds Her gaze paralyzed me into thick cords of rope Her breath electrified my body into rippling currents What do you seek of me? To redeem, to teach What have I to teach, a mere man? I spun a story of a life fraught with failures, an ocean of tears Lamenting broken bones and shattered dreams Body bound in loneliness, spirit in a vice My child In your human life Lies The universe’s greatest gifts: Pain is your compassion Struggles, your strength Follies, your wisdom Solitude, your peace I sat in silence, a timeless eternity What now? You choose This life - a pain to bear or love to share Visions came of broken hearts The horrors of mental scars The shame of failed endeavors The anguish of family lost Yet my children’s laughter emerged The savory aroma of mother’s meals The tart pucker of plucked raspberries The tender kiss of my beloved My love, my family My joys, my victories I would do it all over again As flames engulfed me in welcoming embrace
What I’m Doing This Week
Gratitude
I’m grateful to have the self-awareness of my flaws, the courage to accept them, and the grit to show up every day and work on them.
Lesson Learned
When confronted with an emotional trauma, sit with it and listen to what it’s trying to teach you, rather than burying it with distractions.
Listening to
Express Yourself by Labrinth
Watching
The Creator by Gareth Edwards
Despite some logical flaws and plot holes, this is a beautifully shot, thought provoking, action packed film of epic scale. With tender moments of connection and heartbreak.
A social commentary on oppression, freedom, and forever wars - calling into question the nature of the human soul and Artificial Intelligence.
Reading
Endymion by Dan Simmons
“I have often been called insane by those who underestimate the power of poetry”
Continuing the epic tale of Hyperion, my top sci-fi novel of all time. Thoughts on that book are in my post Books That Have Inspried Me (Part 3).
Self-care
Meditation, fasting, volleyball, ocean, cupping, stretching, neuromuscular therapy, hot baths