Pete's...heart....fly....Tales

For a while my mind was stuck on an image of a brave young boy walking through a charred meadow looking for, and ultimately facing, a dragon straight from his nightmares. But, like the commercial that spawned this image in my mind, it stopped right as the boy realizes he's facing what he knew all along he would find, and at the same time, fearing that he was right about what was waiting there for him, unseen in the shadows.
This image that hung over me like a hazy mist kept me questioning if, in my imagination, I was the boy, and further, what was the dragon? In a way, I wish I could see there in front of me just what happened after the boy and the dragon stood face to face. I've been seeking the answers to all my inner fears lately. And although some of those fears are indeed the stuff of nightmares, I've realized these past few weeks that some of those fears are simply created by the emotion of fear itself. In other words, I've become more and more cognizant of the fact that by facing, or more appropriately, embracing my fears, it stops them from growing. It makes them not seem as menacing and endless. Being able to see that light of self-assurance at the end of the fear tunnel is actually one of the greatest feelings I've ever known. I have many tunnels to traverse in the coming weeks, months, years. But not being afraid of what I can't see will continue to serve me like no other tool ever could. Choosing to not be afraid. That's a powerful idea. There is actually fire in the breath of that thought. It has to be fostered.
All along I assumed I was that boy. Is it entirely possible that, in fact, I never noticed that I might just be the dragon after all?
I find it interesting that my new adventure in discovering yoga has taught me how to achieve "breath of fire"....the deep, rapid breathing technique that stimulates your energy within. And to be honest, I hadn't thought of the idea of the boy and the dragon in a few weeks. But my wife asked me about it just the other day. How the universe finds a way to continually reach out and touch us never ceases to astound me. Maybe I'm just paying more attention. Or perhaps by seeking real truth within yourself you subconsciously open a door to the universe that was once previously shut. Either way, I'm loving this daily Journey of All Things Discoverable. That's what I'll now refer to it as...it sounds so...I don't know.....epic and grandiose. To my closest friends I'll refer to it simply as JAT-D (not to be confused with "jaded"...that would just be counter-productive).
I'm thinking that soon I might post something on this blog that isn't actually about my JAT-D (yes, you are among my closest friends...rejoice). A funny story, perhaps. Or a rambling, ambling tale of boys and dragons, and how to differentiate the two. I suppose only time will tell.
But in the meantime, I'll keep practicing breath of fire in the hopes that I'll be a truly fantastic dragon one of these days.