How to Train the Dragon in Me??? To love and embrace...

Watched “How to Train Your Dragon” a couple of times today, that’s apart from having watched at least about half a dozen times before, but then those of you know me, know that it’s not entirely surprising. In any case, its just not my fetish to watch animation that makes me love this movie so much, instead its the ability of these simple stories to pack profound lessons of life that keeps me drawing to them again and again.

No one could possibly deny the fact that Love transcends everything; it can mould anything and bring to peace amongst everyone. Yet, all it takes is that we employ Love as a means to resolve our issues - this the crux of this beautiful little piece of imagination.
It is quite so easy to dismiss Hiccup as the weak-hearted, timid, lad when he is unable to slay the Dragon that’s bound and immovable. Yet, it’s unmistakable that it takes a whole lot more courage, and conviction to sense a need (for love, forgiveness and restoration) in your adversary. And much more of it to be able to give all of that they need. Having had the courage to step aside from the well established path of trouncing your enemy to crown yourself in glory, Hiccup takes it further and charts a new flight of love and trust.

Indeed, to the skeptics it is all too easy for things to come together in fictional animated film. For the real world to them is an entirely different dragon – for an economist it’s an imperfect market, for a mathematician an irrational number, and so on – one that is not governed by any rules or conveniences that are possible in the fictional setting. Yet I would thumb my nose at such skeptics, for the simple fact that the world has come to what it has because of the fact that we haven’t used Love enough to resolve our issues. Dialogue is a long forgotten word; and Peace a long forgotten phenomenon. We have glorified war and competition at the altar success. Winning at any cost, glory bathed in the blood of your opponent (or your own, for that matter).

How long will we go on this way? How long before we kill and cancel each other off?? Is Survival of the Fittest the only rule we live by? If yes, then the survivor at the end would be left lonely… so lonely that he’d be alone to his own funeral. Why are we in such a mad rush to pin others down and put ourselves on top? Why cant we co-exist? Aren’t we social beings meant to live and let live? God made us this whole wide world, where everyone could find his square foot space under the sun. Still why are we gunning to take the other person down? Why have we built walls of mistrust and distance amongst ourselves?

Driven by competitiveness, we are just learning of each other’s faults, of each other’s negative side, of each other’s not-so-good persona… conveniently forgetting that much of this negative analysis is a out of our own paranoid imagination. Just like the Vikings - all they knew of the Dragons was “Extremely Dangerous” and all they wanted to do was “Kill at Sight” … such was their narrow vision, no one ever bothered to check the veracity of these claims. No one saw that the breathing-fire beasts had a warm side to them, for if Hiccup never tried, he would have never known.

This is what I learn, that following well established path of mistrust and competitiveness is easy, it looks macho and may be makes you feel brave… but in reality its paranoia that is ruling you. It is just a functional head on your shoulders which just gets on with the job like a machine. But if you really were to make a difference and reach out, it would take you a warm heart! It would take you personal strength – one that is not dependent on your weapons but in the conviction deep within. Employ this love and humanity, there is a better world to be made each moment.

For Love conquers everything and transcends all,
It moves all men, both great and small,
Give it a try, and try with your heart,
To see a changed world, change yourself for a start!!