As the light slowly faded to dusk, I decided to take an evening walk in the woods near my home.
Early into my walk, I noticed a figure by an oak tree. I stopped and asked the person,
“Are you OK?“
“I am lost”, they said with tears in their eyes.
“I am so sorry and yes, many get lost here. I have gotten lost in the past as well, but I have since made a home in a cottage at the edge of the forest, and I have learned to navigate my way, so if you would like, we can walk back toward the cottage and you can tell me what you know of how you came to be here and I can direct you to the glen on the other side or wherever you think you need to be.”
“I don’t remember how I got here or where I’m supposed to be and I’m scared”
“Well if you are in this forest, there may be a reason, for some need the shade and quiet of the forest as some need an open meadow in the brightness of the sun. let us walk back together to the cottage. Perhaps you will remember as we go, if not you may rest there, no harm will come to you.”
And so they walked with me, huddled over, their posture bent, and as we went towards the cottage, we begin talking and they remembered nothing of their journey but seemed to relax somewhat. I thought it a bit early to remind them that we knew each other well.
So Fear and I walked back to the cottage and they rested. Once they were asleep I cast protection on the cottage and I returned to my errands in the forest. When I returned in the morning Fear was well rested, but was changing. Perhaps they would remember. Fear said to me.
“I thought about what you said last night and I think I need to go into the forest although I don’t remember why and I’m here but I believe I am called Fear.”
I said “You may believe that you are called Fear but that is not your True Name”
“What is my True Name?”, they said.
“I’m sorry but you’ll have to discover your True Name on your own. That is the nature of True Names. Perhaps we can walk in the forest for a bit and it will come to you”
Fear said to me, “Are you going some place in particular?”
“I need to go deep into the forest to find a dragon named Anger. At least that’s who they think they are right now, but that is not their True Name..”
And Fear looked frightened, but asked “Do you need help?” “Yes I need your help, specifically”
And Fear fully metamorphosed before me. Their posture became upright. They were no longer huddled over, and there was a brightness in their eyes, and they looked me in my eyes and they said.
“I remember my True Name” and I said,
“Of course you do Courage. I came to get your help to find the one who goes by Anger”
“Thank you, exclaimed Courage” I don’t know what happened but I forgot who I was.
“You did the same for me some time back when you came and got me and brought me back to the cottage. So no thanks is necessary. I am merely returning the favor, or doing what we all do when one of us is lost, but thank you Courage.”
And Courage asked me what was my True Name? So I whispered my True Name in Courage’s ear and Courage says to me.
“Who did you think you were?”
“I thought I was Hatred and Sadness thinks they are Anger and deeper in the forest frolicking about is Joy who thought they were Despair a while back. You and I and Joy will need to gently remind Anger that they are Sadness. Once Anger recognizes they are Sadness and is able to feel again, we will all be able abandon even our True Names, and all become the One again. At some point the cycle will begin anew and we will be born again and some will become lost and the others will need to come back into the forest to remind the lost amongst us of who we really are and what our True Name is and then we will become the One again.”
Thus Compassion and Courage, found Joy and approached the den of the Dragon of Anger to comfort them and remind them, they are but a part of the One.
-j.m. wise 12/19/2022 edited 3/22/2023.
Fear ⟹ Courage
Anger ⟹ Sadness
Despair ⟹ Joy
Hatred ⟹ Compassion