What are your Dementors and Dumbledores?

"It has been said - next to hunger and thirst our most basic need is for storytelling."

Hi friends,

For the past week and a bit I've been tooling around France - visiting Paris and Rouen and the Normandy Beaches. It was a beautiful trip that took my Mother, two daughters and I down the Seine River on a river boat. I'm sure I'll have lots to write about in future posts. 

Given the magic of the trip, however, I thought I'd give homage to another magician of sorts: J.K. Rowling, whose Harry Potter books were first published 20 years ago this week.

The impact of Rowling's books on an entire generation, and more, are enormous. Her astonishingly astute observations on the role of beliefs, imagination, failure, empathy and love have created an invaluable tome to life.

As such, I'd like to revisit a theme I wrote about a few years back with some fresh insights involving the symbolism used regarding Dementors and Dumbledore. 

For those unfamiliar with the series, the Dementors are creatures that represent all of the dark things in life.  They have the ability to suck out every good feeling and happy memory from both mind and body.

Dumbledore, on the other hand, is a high wizard who represents wisdom and goodness and love and kindness.  He exhibits an unwavering love and faith in humankind and inspires others to move beyond their fears with his words and actions.

It is easy, therefore, to extrapolate and see how we too battle our own Dementors  and seek solace with our own Dumbledores throughout our lives.

What is interesting, however, is that our Dementors and our Dumbledores are not merely relegated to real life persons or situations.

More often than not, our most troubling Dementors and most liberating Dumbledores come from within...with our thoughts.

Feelings of insecurity, loneliness, depression, anxiety and anger can all be traced to a thought or group of thoughts - each building on the other to create a kind of dark and isolating vortex devoid of light and hope.

These are our Dementors and they can breed like rabbits, if left unchecked.

Feelings of love, joy, empathy, clarity, peace and confidence can also be traced to a thought or group of thoughts.  Such feelings, however, create a space for unlimited possibility and reveal a fundamental truth about our innate being-ness.

These feelings represent our Dumbledores.

They come as whispers on the wind leaving in their wake the

answers we seek... 

next steps to take...

right words to utter.

Life is filled with metaphorical Dumbledores and Dementors...be they in person or in thought.

Each have their lessons to teach.

Each serve a purpose.

And when we understand that Dementers are part of life and nothing more, we more easily allow them to pass, without attachment, thereby permitting a return to our most fundamental and powerful nature...one of love and faith...without a second thought.

How magical is that?