The Lords of Fate decided a hero was required on a certain planet to establish a heroic archetype and role model. This archetype would be an example of courage, honour and nobility. It would inspire writers, poets and filmmakers and encourage idealism among the young. Since the particular planet was at an early stage of development, the hero was to slay a dragon and rescue a young lady from its clutches.
Having imprinted this sacred duty on their newly
created hero, the Lords of Fate assigned a relatively inexperienced soul messenger to deliver the new soul to its earthly abode. Unfortunately, the messenger having fudged the course in transcelestial navigation and space-time co-ordinates delivered the new soul to the wrong planet. Planets, like people, go through different stages of development, and this planets stage of archetypal development was well beyond the primitive model of dragon slaying, maiden rescuing heroes. In fact, this planet no longer had dragons to slay, which created considerable stress for Gerald, the misplaced soul.
Like most would be heroes, young Gerald was an adventurous child, much given to wandering and not particularly interested in the academic arts of reading, writing and arithmetic. His parents and teachers were constantly after him to "stay put", "pay attention!" and "do your homework!" They were profoundly irritated by his habit of stashing sharp knives under his bed or trying to turn metal pipes into swords. They were on the point of placing Gerald in a "special class" for the learning impaired and putting him on a course of "medication" for hyperactive; attention deficit disordered children when the miracle happened.
Gerald was in the third grade casually flipping through an illustrated book, when he saw his natural quarry. Covered with gold and red scales, claws reaching out to grasp a cowering blond maiden, flames pouring out of its mouth, Gerald had seen his first dragon and deep within his soul he knew his destiny.Subsequently, Gerald read everything he could on the subject of dragons. He became an expert on oriental dragons, on the dragons of medieval Europe, and on the appropriate techniques to eliminate such menaces.
The one thing Gerald would not accept was the absurd notion that dragons were creatures of myth and fantasy. He knew they existed and his ultimate destiny was to slay one.
Time passed, and Gerald grew into a six and a half-foot tall, blue eyed, powerfully muscled young man. When he turned 19, he began a series of journeys, travelling across Europe, Asia, and Africa in search of the illusive dragon, determined to fulfil his calling. He even journeyed to the summits of the Himalayas in search of the "Wise Old Man" who would guide him to the dragons lair. And because the Gods are kind and fortune does smile on the heroic soul, he found a guide.
Geralds "Wise Old Man" lived in a cave above a village in Nepal. He had the gift of "insight" and recognised the heroic soul within young Gerald. Through an interpreter, the ancient monk, Durum, gently informed Gerald that dragons were symbols of greed and cruelty. They stood for those who laid waste to the environment and destroyed beauty and innocence. During the 5 years, Gerald stayed with Durum, he learned his true destiny was to defend the victims of political and environmental mismanagement and rescue them from the dragons of civic corruption and corporate greed.
Armed with this knowledge, Gerald returned to his home in Chicago, entered University and after being called to the Bar, became a leading activist for human rights and the ecology movement. He was never quite comfortable in this role, for as soon as he slew one corporate dragon, another arose and he never found the beautiful princess or the magic kingdom of retired Heroes reward.
By the time Gerald was 55, he was tired and resented the ingratitude of those he sought to help. He was full of bitterness and felt helpless in the face of so many wrongs, so much evil and a society which had no room for heroes and little if no compassion for the oppressed. In short, Gerald suffered from burnout, and the more he tried to help, the deeper his depression grew.
He gradually withdrew from the arena of social/environmental activism and rarely made any kind of public appearance. By age 60, Gerald was living in a one-room walk-up, with the bath down the hall and a hot plate for cooking. He didnt even have a phone and his old friends avoided him. Gerald knew he had done his best, but that did not change his deep conviction that he was a failure and that he had wasted his life.
Meanwhile in the celestial realms, the Lords of Fate became aware that the Heroic archetype was not developing on a certain planet, that the dragon slaying hadnt taken place and young maidens were still being devoured. They summoned the soul messenger and demanded an accounting of their missing hero.
The nervous messenger was too frightened to offer excuses and finally admitted it had sent the soul to the wrong planet. The soul messenger was demoted to the role of accountant and the Lords of Fate sent one of their finest spirit guides to rectify the situation.
At first Gerald thought he was dreaming when his room took on an unearthly glow and a golden winged figure descended from the ceiling. He rubbed his eyes and fumbled for the gin bottle stashed under the bed. "Go away!" he muttered as he finished off the bottle, "You don't exist."
"Gerald" the apparition whispered, "Gerald, a great wrong has been done to you."
"You can say that again!" grunted Gerald; "it doesn't matter what I try to do. People just don't care!"
"No Gerald," corrected the figure," Its not that people don't care, its that you are in the wrong place."
The spirit went on to inform Gerald of the original error and how his destiny had been thwarted. Gerald learned that his task wasn't to combat monsters of greed and cruelty, but to slay a real dragon and win a real princess. This done the spirit guide gently divested Gerald of his corporeal form and transported him to a world where there were dragons in plenty, princesses for the rescuing and profoundly grateful and generous kings.
Those of us, who want to live a heroic life, rescue the unfortunate, slay villainous practitioners of corporate down sizing and environmental degradation and pursue a noble calling, need to be aware that there is no end to the social and personal evils that confront the hero. It is well and fine to follow your destiny, but its useful to examine your expectations and choose your battles carefully.
Stories For A Winter Night