Imagine a land where people are afraid of dragons. It is a reasonable fear: dragons possess a number of qualities that make being afraid of them a very commendable response. Things like their terrible size, their ability to spout fire, or to crack boulders into splinters with their massive talons. In fact, the only terrifying quality that dragons do not possess is that of existence. Now, the people of this land know about dragons because their leaders have warned them about them. They tell stories about cruel dragons with razor teeth and fiery breath. They recount legends of dragons hunting by night on silent wings. In short, the leaders make sure that the people believe in all the qualities of dragons, including that key quality of existence. And then they control the people – when they need to – with their fear of dragons. The people pay a dragon-slaying tax … everyone stays indoors after dark to avoid being snatched by swooping claws … and nobody ever strays out of bounds for fear of being eaten well and truly up. one. And so it is necessary from time to time to provide evidence: a burnt tree or two, a splintered rock, the mysterious absence of a villager. The population is controlled by the dragons in its collective mind. It’s contrived superstition, and it is possible because the people do not know enough about the way the world works to know that dragons do not exist.David Whiteland
About This Quote
How many times have you heard someone say "I know it's not true, but it's good to think about?" People try and make the most of their lives and live in a fantasy world. They will put up with certain things like bad relationships and even worse bosses in order to keep the "good" part of their lives. But in doing this they will suffer in the long run. If we were to think about our fears and imagined possible outcomes of events that haven't or haven't happened yet, they would be just that: imagined.
We do this all the time by putting up with things that aren't necessarily true because we don't want to deal with the pain of reality. When we hold on to our fears and imagine them as facts, we've already gone and gone and gone and gone too far.
Source: Book Of Pages
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More Quotes By David Whiteland
- Imagine a land where people are afraid of dragons. It is a reasonable fear: dragons possess a number of qualities that make being afraid of them a very commendable response. Things like their terrible size, their ability to spout fire, or to crack boulders into...
- Imagine a land where people are afraid of dragons. It is a reasonable fear: dragons possess a number of qualities that make being afraid of them a very commendable response. Things like their terrible size, their ability to spout fire, or to crack boulders into...