A Brand New Year
As a new year begins, I always think of the past, collect my lessons, and begin to plot my future. Fiction is a powerful tool, tell a story, hit someone’s imagination and make a point. Teaching stories have existed since long before the first written word was written and they will still be used when humans are exploring other planets for habitation with alien friends. I suspect those aliens will have teaching stories of their own, much like my dragons.
What is your favorite teaching story? Is it something obvious or personal? Was it from a member of your own family, or of someone long ago and far away? My favorites are the simplest ones, detail rich and message clear. If you have one you would like to share, I am always a willing audience.
Mia, my dragon storyteller, tells a number of good ones for young and old dragons as well as humans. One of my favorites of hers is why dragons must learn to wait…
Mia raised her hand signaling the beginning of a story and the crowd shifted into a comfortable posture, prepared to listen with every part of their considerable intelligence focused on the story teller, ready to capture the images and tones she projected as well as the emotions and atmosphere. All dragons must learn the skill needed to wait. It is an expectation of all dragon society that people wait. We wait to be acknowledged at the edge of a territory, again at the edge of a nest. We wait to have a requested audience with an individual, for an opportunity to speak our thoughts and have them heard thoughtfully. We wait to sexually mature, to emotionally mature, to find our mate, to learn skills and master talents, we even wait to see what happens next. Dragons are made to wait while the planet plans for us, and we wait as we come to know ourselves.
Some have asked what is the purpose for all this waiting? Well I will tell you that when dragons first came to bond with the planet, she discovered that dragons, even older dragons, seldom took time to consider. They were unaware of so many things because they were always in a rush, a race to meet their needs. Like all the other beasts on the planet, dragons were in a race to live, to mate, to reproduce, and to die. Our great planet wanted more for us, and more from us, so she taught her first chosen clan a most valuable lesson. She spoke softly so only those with a quiet mind could hear, she spoke in silence, deep enough so deep thought was required. Mia smiled and looked at all the many faces listening to her story.
She spoke slowly, with powerful messages and images to help those who found ways to understand. But most of all, she spoke only one time each season, making those chosen dragons wait, ponder, listen, and consider why her messages were meaningful. Our planet is truly wonderful with her wisdom and strength and she taught us the value of waiting. As we grow we consider the many values of learning to wait, from self discovery, to contemplation, to deeper understanding and companionship. Our society would be entirely different if dragons had never learned to wait.
Mia looked at the few human faces and smiled. The humans that the planet has recently adopted have begun to learn the value of waiting. As time goes on, as it always does, I am sure more humans will learn this valuable skill. Youngsters and youth must always practice waiting until they have perfected the skill and can set aside their impatience. Of course there are plenty of stories about how impatience caused difficulty for a few adventurous youths. But those are stories for a different day.