A Noble Heart

I awoke one morning to the sun rising over the horizon where the tree line whispers secrets to the sky. With the aroma of coffee brewing in the air, I was thinking of this day and all it could bring. The possibilities were endless on such a morning. With a cup in hand, I went outside on the deck for my meditation. A gentle breeze brushed my face and I could hear a symphony of birds seducing my ears as streaks of the newborn sun lite the sky like a kaleidoscope.

I must have fallen asleep, for as in a dream I saw two swords drawn and crossed in front of me. I instinctively knew I was to witness some grand event. As I shook off my disbelief, to my surprise I could see two dragons, one named Thou Shalt and the other Thou Shalt Not. They looked as identical twins. And as I listened I could see a crowd forming, getting larger by the minute, some shouted praise for Thou Shalt and some for Thou Shalt Not, and still, others seemed confused as they saw attributes in each dragon, both good and bad. Still, others were there because they saw a crowd and two dragons and all the indications of a good flight.

I to saw things I liked and things I didn’t in each dragon. Although safe behind the swords, I soon knew the futility in taking any side in this fight. As I mused over this the dragons commenced to fighting and the crowd went wild and everyone forgot what they believed and didn’t believe and what exactly they were fighting for! The battle became totally about who could get the most punches in and who could hang on the longest to their dragon and who would fall first. Everyone was taking a mile and not wanting to give an inch. Then all of a moment I saw the dragons wink at each other. Thus, the swords fell open and I was allowed in with a lesson in hand.

As you may have guessed, this battle started long ago and is still taking place in every corner of the world, on the streets of Bagdad and Chicago, and so on. The dragons represent society and are twins… two sides of the same coin. You can’t believe in one without the other wanting its due. That’s the way things are in this fight. We want to blame either dragon for society’s failures, but they are just doing as dragons do, hoarding gold they could never possibly spend; it’s our reaction to them that is to blame.

A Story Within The Story

Presently, we see our pilgrim Sir Perceval enter the Grail castle and proceeds to the banquet where he sees many wondrous things as one could imagine in such a place. At the head of the event, he sees the king, lying down ill and dying. The black covered caisson just outside awaiting the inevitable end. His lands also laid to waste. Now Perceval’s dragons, yes he has those same dragons (society), tells him that a Knight never asks questions, he’s a doer and he keeps his mouth shut. This advice has gotten our pilgrim into trouble before, so he’s escorted to the king and he asks the question, “Sire, what ails you”. Suddenly the king’s cured, and his lands restored. All of this by the simple gift of compassion from a noble heart. And each of us has a noble heart but we just haven’t realized it.

We chose the dragons we get and they inflict pain if you let them. We do not always know why or how we entered this dance, which in the end is a moot point as all we have is this moment. So use your higher voice steeped in compassion, yes the one before you knew Dragon Speak and find peace in your life. Then just maybe I’ll notice you, yes you, the one with the noble heart drinking coffee at Starbucks with your dragons commenting on what a beautiful day it is.

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