In a Land Far Away

In a land far away there lives a lovely purple dragon named Clarissa.  She lives in a warm snug cave on the side of a tall mountain overlooking an azure blue lake.  Clarissa is friends with all the surrounding wildlife and they know she will protect them against any marauding humans or dragons who venture into this remote land.  Did I mention that Clarissa is rather unusual in the dragon kingdom for a number of reasons, primarily because she is vegan.  She has her own garden and she just loves beets and Brussels sprouts!

Clarissa's life has not always been as pleasant as it now is.  For much of her life, Clarissa tried living with other dragons in the neighboring dragon kingdom, and she really did her best to follow the rules and do what she was supposed to.  She believed her elders who told her that she was stupid and ugly and clumsy, that she had no talents of any kind and hence that she could only survive by working harder than anyone, always struggling to do more, try harder than everyone else.  She lived her life with lots of negativity--being told that she couldn't draw, she couldn't write, she couldn't make music, she couldn't do this and couldn't do that.

Having grown up with all these negative beliefs, she thought that was the Truth, whatever that meant, and she began imposing her own set of what she couldn't do on herself as well.  Soon she was really burdened down and her world lost its color.  Clarissa realized that she would not survive if she continued to live like this, so one day, Clarissa packed up her belongings, slung them across her back, and took off on a long flight.  Oh, she knew all the other dragons were laughing at her because she wasn't the best flier and she lacked endurance, speed, and height, but she didn't care.  Anything was better than staying where she was.


That was the day that changed Clarissa's life.  She found "her" mountain, as she called it, and on that mountain, not to far up, she found a lovely cave which was just the right size for her.  She set about making that cave a home that reflected who she really was and as she worked on her cave she discovered lots about herself.  She discovered that in fact she could do lots of things!  She discovered that life is good and that she can enjoy it, that she can make friends and that she is also ok on her own.  She likes her own company.  She now plays her wooden recorder and the nearby animals enjoy her music.  She has found the beauty in silence, discovering that she can sleep in the blissful quiet without having to have the snores and "music" of other dragons.  She has discovered her own art, different from anyone else's, unique, and joyful.  Color has come back into Clarissa's life and that is a very good thing indeed.