Phantom Freedom
If you are a dominant Dragon (dominated by your inner masculine energy) then you will more than likely experience a burning desire in your chest to be “free.”
What freedoms are you chasing right now? Are they financial? Will you finally be happy when your private jet flies you to freedom? Perhaps you’ll finally be happy when you are free of your boss’s micromanagement or free of those excess pounds you’re carrying around.
It may not be easy to pinpoint the precise freedom that drives you because, like many Dragons, over time you probably learned to silence and sacrifice your desire for freedom for the perceived greater good of those you care for. Conversely, if you didn’t learn to curb your desire, you likely soon discovered that achieving your idea of “freedom” didn’t really satisfy you in a meaningful way. Any happiness felt after achieving freedom was probably fleeting and followed by a sense of emptiness and loneliness (until you found another freedom to chase . . . and another . . . and another).
Physical freedom, sexual freedom, financial freedom, free time, freedom from control—these are all ultimately illusions and distractions, which is why any joy they manage to deliver is so fleeting and shallow. They are phantom freedoms. Chasing them is no different from a greyhound chasing a rabbit at the dog track: The greyhound might catch the rabbit, but then what?
For a Dragon to find real happiness, they have to find real freedom. Soul-quenching freedom. Happiness-delivering freedom.
A Dragon will find real freedom when they can learn to escape the pain of their Ego, self-doubt, and judgment. A Dragon will find real happiness when they find the real freedom that exists in the infinite of the moment.
Hang on. Hold up. “Finding real freedom in the infinite of the moment” sounds a lot like enlightenment. Couldn’t it be something easier than fucking enlightenment?
Okay, yes, enlightenment is the ultimate end game . . . but for us challenged souls just trying to tie our shoelaces, we need a more reasonable starting place.
Dragons can start to make strides toward their real freedom by learning to conquer the harsh criticism of their Ego—and nothing silences self-doubt like self-respect. When a Dragon finds their self-respect, their life becomes grounded in pride. Because when you respect yourself (and when you feel your partner respects you), that respect provides much-needed relief to the burning in your chest to be free. There is freedom in respect . And it all starts with you identifying a meaningful and challenging purpose and fully owning your decisions.
More on that to come.