We enjoyed a beautiful Thanksgiving Day, and now, I softly percolate the day after. The hills were green, and the sky magnificent with clouds and light as we drove south, and then, freezing temperatures brought us all inside to feast. Now, I’m home aware that there’s one more day in November, and then we enter December, the last month of this year.
There’s a sense of pause and then a leap toward transformation and change.
In Chinese mythology, the Dragon’s Gate is located at the top of a waterfall cascading from a legendary mountain. If a carp makes the jump at the top of the waterfall, it becomes a dragon.
I’m reminded of a story I love, The Reluctant Dragon, written by Kenneth Grahame, and published in 1898. A young boy meets a poetry-loving dragon and they become friends. When the dragon is discovered by the local people, they call St. George in fear, and ask him to come and destroy the dragon.
When St. George arrives, the boy introduces him to the dragon, who is not inclined to fight. The two decide to stage a fight. The dragon is given an imaginary wound, and declared reformed by St. George. The people accept the reformed, poetry loving and peaceful dragon.
Tonight, I sit contemplating. What do I want and need in this upcoming last month of the year? I’m inspired to leap to the top of my waterfall dreams, and become what streams a fire of peace, poetry, connection, friendship and ease.