Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Ars whose family fell on hard times.
Desperate, Ars' parents betrothed her to a wealthy but hideous dragon to secure her dowry.
Ars despaired. "How can I spend the rest of my life with such a horrid creature?" she cried.
With nowhere else to turn, Ars went to her elderly grandmother to seek her advice.
Her grandmother, with a kind and knowing smile, told her:
"My dear, here's what you must do. Before you consummate the marriage, secretly put on ten wedding gowns and make a deal with your new husband.
Tell him that for each dress you remove, he has to remove a layer of his scales."
Bewildered but faced with no other choice, Ars decided to follow her grandmother's instructions.
When she made her request of the dragon on their wedding night, he was confused but agreed. He peeled off the first layer of his scaly skin, and though it felt uncomfortable, he didn't experience much discomfort.
But with each layer the dragon removed, the pain increased until he roared and wept.
Finally, after he removed the tenth and last layer of his scaly skin, Ars was astonished. Lo and behold! There, before her, stood a handsome prince!
I love this story. It reveals a fundamental truth about the spiritual path and the uncovering of our hidden goodness.
It hurts!
It's painful to remove the darker aspects of our personality that hide our essential beauty. But if we're brave and stay the course, the reward is great. We will uncover our true nature that was there all along!
Wherever you might be in this process, I pray you have the strength to press on and to accept that pain is part of the journey of growth and healing.
The road toward becoming the highest expression of who we are is both glorious and painful. But don't give up! It's worth it!
-- Ian Morgan Cron
