Beauty and The Beast ~ Closing Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

Whether it is reading the original story or watching one of the Disney movies, I love this Beauty and the Beast.  It is a tale of love and redemption.  It reminds us all that love can overcome things far better than we imagine.

Still, there is horror there too.  We have a monster inside of us that is powerful and wishes to only serve himself.  We deny, hide, or indulge this beast as our mind wills.  We put the needs of the beast ahead of our obligation to love the Father and love all other humans.  We indulge the cravings that make us selfish and breed hatred.

I realize that sounds very dark but that is because it is.  There is darkness in each of us that is only eradicated by the love and light of Christ.  That light only enters by our allowing it, however.  Jesus does not force his way in but knocks and asks.

If I am to continue to keep the darkness at bay, I must see even the minor things in me that lead to rejecting the light.  “Just giving advice” leads to my desire to control.  If asked I will point out options but I must avoid the trap of telling others what to do about anything.  If pushed on the issue, I must lovingly point out that it is healthier for other to reason out their own choices through prayer and honest thinking.

When I show love, it must be without expectation.  I must not attach any obligation to love given or received save that of my obligation to love everyone without condition or expectation.  I must give with generosity and one the giving is done; I have no right or expectation of how my gift is used.  Kindness must be my way of life.  Anger has no right to life beyond the day and it is better dispatched quickly.  Offenses are optional in the adopting.  It is better to leave them lie and be lovingly unoffendable. 

All of these things keep the darkness illuminated.  I am not there and have very far to go to be there.  I was reminded by someone I love that I am better than I was.  I celebrate the love and mercy of the Father that has my life in a place where others benefit.  The beauty of this constant vigilance is that when every thought is being trained to love others, the journey is consumed by working to love others.  It is steeped in working to love the Father.

There is a Beast in me who still rages to have his way.  The beauty is that the love of Christ and of those who see me working to no longer be that man is given freely without my demanding it.  It is rich and sweet and I treasure it, Dear Reader.  When we journey together showing each other love with no other agenda, the travel is where the beauty is.  I love you, Dear Reader.  This tale is truly as old as time.  I am thankful that we are in it together.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

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Beauty and The Beast ~ The Enchantress

Greetings Dear Reader,

We know why the Beast was enchanted.  There is understanding as to why his own lack of love earned him the curse he carried.  What I question when I read this story is the motivation of the Enchantress for being involved with him at all.

When one considers, however, that there is a clear reason, it becomes key to our process of quelling the beast within us all.  The Enchantress is clearly seeking the reclamation of the Beast.  She wishes for him to love and to be loved.  Her heart is to teach him how powerful love is. 

Remember that the key to all of this tale is love.  It is what pushes the story to matter.  It is what fuels the resolution whether the original one or Disney’s.  It is love that condemns the Beast.  It is love that guides him to understanding his errors.  Love melts his cold heart and transforms him to someone who loves others above himself.

The entire idea of redemption is based on love.  If I hope to gain any ground in the war against the Beast within me, the weapon must be love.  The fuel must be love.  If anything in this world is “magic”, it is love.  It possesses a power that we do not fully understand.  I would even venture that our comprehension of love is only a glimmer of it true brilliant light.

The Father is so much more than an enchantress.  He is that which commands that all we do be based on our love for him and each other.  I must replace every selfish and vain thought with love.  My prime mover must be my love for the Father.  The entirety of my dreams and aspirations must be given over love faced outward to others. 

The power of this flow to and through me will allow me to quell the Beast, Dear Reader.  We can travel together teaching others that love has the power to restore and redeem.  It is possible to show what Christ can do in all of us if our focus is love.  It is the fuel for our journey of faith and we have a long way yet to go.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

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Beauty and The Beast ~ Original Endings

Greetings Dear Reader,

I think that most Disney movies are great entertainment for kids and for kids at heart.  The stories teach a lesson and end with the triumph of love in some way or another.  I am all for that.

We do, however, forget how these fairytales end.  The stories as they were written are quite grim.  In Cinderella, the original story has the sisters cutting off their toes to fit the glass slipper and ravens claw out their eyes on the way to the wedding.  Mulan is forced into prostitution and commits suicide.  In Beauty and the Beast, the Beast dies.

Yes, the Beast dies and we do not get the wedding dance ending that Disney provides.  We must understand that there was a lesson in this original ending.  The beast could not live on as a beast.  He had to die.

I came to the place where that within me that did not love had to die as well.  I spent too long trying to hide it.  I put too much emphasis on believing I could control it instead of giving my heart to the love that the Father offers and trusting him to kill the beast.  Not facing the depth of my darkness, the beast within me, caused me to let it live.

The idea of dying to self is key to following Christ.  No matter how many times we desire to make this true, it is a daily process.  It is moment by moment capturing every thought and putting the love of Christ in the center of our thinking.  In every thought, I must replace anything that is not loving with the seeking of Christ’s love for me and expressing that love to others. 

We cannot hope to finish this process until we reach the clearing at the end of the path.  In the end, however, the beast must die.  That within each of us that does not love and thinks only of itself must pass.  That which loves must live and grow strong.  I can only achieve this through the love of the Father and the grace and power given me by the Spirit.

I fiend also that as I begin to tell the whole of my story that others are encouraged.  Other find that they too can face their darkness and light it with the love of Christ.  As my eldest Son once wrote, this love is barrier crushing.  There will always be challenges to this whilst we live.  We can kill the beast, Dear Reader.  It begins with capturing our thoughts, facing our truth, and allowing the Father to show us how deeply he loves us.  When you are ready to deal with your darkness, I promise to love you as well.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

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Beauty and The Beast ~ Caged

Greetings Dear Reader,

One of the difficulties in denying our darker selves is that the only one who does not see it is the one denying it.  We choose not to see what others see in us.  We think that we are hiding something that we have caged. 

We have all seen this in stories or in the life stories of others.  We think that we have caged the beast in us.  We believe that we are compensating for its rage by doing other things.  We believe we can live this way.

What I must do, and have just begun to do is face the deep darkness within me.  I must allow the Father to shine his light on that darkness and dispel it.  Honesty requires that I try not to cage it, but rather that I let it die.  I must give all of who I am to the Father including that which I would deny exists. 

I spent too many years trying to belie the existence of the things that must die if I am to truly live.  Fortunately for me, the Father is not surprised by this and has forgiveness, grace, and mercy to meet it.  There is no darkness that the Father cannot light with his love.  There is no darkness in me that cannot be chased away by the Light of the World, Jesus.

As I deepen my commitment to the Father, I am forced to see the things that I have not given over to him.  It is in the yielding of that which I have denied that I find the path to peace, Dear Reader.  It is in admitting to it that I find freedom.  As I have discussed this with those close to me, most have responded with a deep, loving connection that does much to heal my heart and dispel my fear.

It is much easier to fight the things that I do outwardly that fed this caged beast.   The cage is empty and the dark corners get light.  The battle against the things that make me wish to control and subvert is easier.  Anger flees from me as I fill the dungeon in my heart with love.  It is in this light that I must keep journeying home.  You of course are welcome with me, Dear Reader.

Empty Cages – Dan Fogelberg

Waiting in the wings your courage sings before you falter...

It's just another way to say what's there but never shows.

It's just another day to lay your sins before the altar.

And where it's going to end this time around nobody knows.

Every time it seems that you have gained an understanding

Those devils at your heels reach up and try to tip the scales.

Waking from a dream you see it's all been done without you.

And every vain attempt to make it stay is destined to fail.

Fury rages through your restless days

Shades of time that's gone before

Empty cages where the prisoner plays

'Til the door swings closed behind forevermore...

Evermore...

Evermore...

Long before we come of age, we yearn to leave the garden

And wrestle with a myth the hand of fate has faintly drawn.

But somewhere on the way, we feel our hearts begin to harden

And see just as we learn to turn around the garden is gone.

Fury rages through your restless days

Shades of time that's gone before

Empty cages where the prisoner plays

'Til the door swings closed behind forevermore...

Evermore...

Evermore...

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

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Beauty and The Beast ~ Rose Petals

Greetings Dear Reader,

 A silent central part of the story is the rose.  Its petals are the urgency in the story as they mark the time the Beast has to find love.  I find the device beautiful.  I also see more clearly its significance as the years pass.

In the story every petal matters for they are the enchantment that measures out the time of Beast.  We all are given a measure of time to do what we can to learn better of the Father and his ways.  It is the petals, the years, when we realize that more have fallen than remain that we give the rose our attention.

It is Father’s day.  I am keenly aware that those of us who have fathers that love us, only have them for so long.  Part of taming the beast inside is remembering to love those who gave us life even when the life they gave was not what we wish it had been.  It is not enough for me to dismiss the anger.  It is not enough to forgive.  I must intentionally and actively love. 

The dark passenger that lives inside me wants me to live in anger and judge by what is past.  It wishes me to wish the past to change and somehow repair my pain and damage.  The Father instead wishes for me to forgive and love.  He desires that I love even those who were supposed to always be my allies but became my enemies.  It wishes for me to walk in peace with everyone.

 The rose petals of time remind me that I do not have as long as I think to do this.  They fall one at a time and there are more that have fallen than remain on the bud.  There are things I long for on this particular day that cannot be so.  I must use my faith in and love for the Father to live the truth that I cannot make things as I wish them. 

What I can give to the Father today is trust that he will make things as they should be.  He will heal all the wounds in me and those I have caused in others.  The Father will make all things right even if he does not do so until after my last rose petal falls.  Part of quelling the beast is to live always beyond the time I have.  Paradoxically, I must do that in each moment of life.  I must see the greater vision and apply it to my current instant every single moment.  

As we investigate this beautiful story, Dear Reader, let us remember that we are to redeem the time.  Doing so means loving those who gave us life even if in our minds they do not deserve it.  We cannot follow Christ and dismiss our fathers.  We cannot claim to be good loving people and not show love to those we are required to honor.  It is hard for some of us.  It is also necessary for peace.

 Wishing you joy in the journey,

 Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

 Contacts for Aramis Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          
Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
Facebook       Twitter        
Medium         Instagram 
BLOG Archive:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Beauty and The Beast ~ The Beast Within

Greetings Dear Reader,

I think we have all heard the quote, “Remember that you are the villain in someone else’s story.”  Even the very best have detractors.  When we consider our own lives, if we are honest, we have harmed others, failed to love properly, and been a beast to someone.

If we only take a moment to look within, we know that we hide things that would horrify others.  We are rarely honest enough with our own souls to see it.  We spend great time and energy to hide and quell the beast within us.  One of the things we do that lies to us is that we compare our darkness to the rest of humanity instead of comparing it to the only standard: God.

I foolishly for years thought that I could hide the dark beast inside me by controlling the world around me.  Instead, I walked blindly through years not seeing how my attempt to hide the deepest layers of my sin only caused me to sin in different ways.  The hard layer of dishonesty about my darkness only produced pain for those around me.  Those who loved me would still defend, be loyal, and try to fix me.  It was not possible because none of them knew the root cause.

Until I began to face the beast within me, I had no hope of being anything good for anyone.  The damage in my youth that gave life to the raging monster was not my fault.  Failure to be honest with those that loved me about the challenge is all my doing.  Refusal to seek to be all that I told others they could be is all my fault. 

In attempting to finally deal with this, I must also accept that there may be no understanding from some.  The wounds are too deep or the Father has not brought us to the point of reconciliation yet.  It is the voice of that beast that wishes to demand restoration.  It is the voice of the Father that promises that when I need it, I will have it but not until then.

At the essence of recognizing the beast within is the understanding that I must seek to love the Father and those around me.  This starves the beast, weakens him, and allows me to live in truth.  If I spend my time doing that, I will not waste time trying to control or force things that are unhealthy.  We can only walk this path if we do so in truth, Dear Reader.  We can only find hope if we see the beast for what he is and take away his power. 

For so long I saw myself as only the beast and strove to hide him away.  I must see him for what he is and strive to give him no place or power instead.  If you are still walking with me, Dear Reader, I hope you understand.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

Facebook       Twitter        

Medium         Instagram 

BLOG Archive:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Beauty and The Beast ~ Opening Thoughts

Greetings Dear Reader,

One of the stories that have enchanted me since I was a boy is that of Beauty and the Beast.  The storybook I had as a lad told the tale with its original challenges and ending.  It is not the ending that Disney gives us.  Were Disney to end most fairy stories as they were written, it would not be the “happiest place on earth.”

Still, I love the story.  I think that even then before the darkness had purchase, I knew that there was something different about me.  Belle has always been my favorite “Disney Princess” and the why of it is sometimes elusive.  As I have come to grips with my own darkness, however, I begin to see why Belle is so dear to me.  The answer is not a simple one.

That brings us to the purpose of this series of Thoughts and Questions.  I am endeavoring to understand the things I love and learn how to be more honestly loveable.  I spent so much of my life trying to be loved instead of trying to love that I sometimes have difficulty knowing how to love others properly.  A dear friend told me recently that I make others feel genuinely listened to and heard.

I know that it is part of the light hidden in my darkness that does this.  I have always been that way.  I like to listen to others.  Still, I have always felt like the beast.  I have felt unlovable my entire life.  Only when I began to seek to love rather than to be loved did I begin to see clearly those that do love me.

As that becomes a pattern instead of an effort, it makes me wonder how I can love more deeply.  I keep coming back to this story in that effort.  I feel the sadness of the beast and that I relate so deeply to it.  It is not self-pity or anything like that.  It is my desire to love others even in the state I am.   It is my desire to allow others to see that love of Christ in a way that reflects my understanding that if Jesus loves me, he loves everyone.

In order to do that, Dear Reader, I need to walk through the story, not reading into it.  I need to take the lessons it teaches in stride with the truth I know and see where they merge.  I would treasure your company as we talk through this tale together and ponder how it relates to a tale as old as time.  If you have not read the original story, I recommend it with the warning that it will not fit your Disney image of the tale.  In any event, I value your thoughts and questions as we journey together.

Prayer of Saint Francis – Sarah McLachlan

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is error, the truth;

Where there is doubt, the faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled, as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Every human story is part of the great story that leads to the Father getting everything back to Good.

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

#aramisthorn

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

Novels: From My Publisher or on Amazon          

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

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Medium         Instagram 

BLOG Archive:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/ 

Opening the Year – That’s Why It’s Called the Present.

Happy New Year Dear Reader,

A week ago today at this time I was waiting for my Daughter to awaken so we could open our presents to each other.  That was last year.  It is in the past.  I still feel the waves of joy rippling through me as I watched each of my children and grandchildren open their gifts. 

Alas, I have already heard the sighs and moans of returning to normal.  I have already heard the joy and mirth being dis

missed by those who see the day in and day out of life as a grind.  I cannot approach the world this way.

My favorite way to articulate this since 2008 has been through the instruction given in Kung Fu Panda.  “Yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift; that’s why it’s called the present.”  Each morning that I awaken is a gift from God.  It is my privilege to give it back to him one moment at a time.

I plan and God guides so that I do not get lost in my plans.  I try to pull on the tethers to the past and God gently turns my head back toward the path in front of me.  Today I open a year, a month, and a day.  What I forget is that I am also opening hours, minutes, and moments.  Every one of them is a gift from God for me to use as I will.

Living in the moment must be an eternal exercise in not looking for more in the future.  It must be seeing that the tethers to the past are guides and not puppet strings.  I need to give each moment back to God by assuring that I look for him in it.  I cannot stress this enough. 

In the last two weeks some very painful and dangerous places in my heart have been stirred to a fearful contentious wakefulness.  My thoughts try to push me to think more of the past and the future that the moment.  If I do this I will fail so miserably in living in the moments and that is the only place where my hope and faith work.

So as I open the gift from God that is a new year I pray that he keeps pointing me back to the moment.  I hope that he does not lose patience with my constant looking back or ahead in unhealthy ways.  Perhaps he will be merciful and make my looking back in the wrong way cause me to see things in the right way.  Perhaps as I look to the future I will only see what is good for me to see and try to over think what comes next.

Just like Christmas day with my Grandsons, I want to be so caught up in each gift that I open that I forget that there are others waiting for me to open.  I want each moment to be so filled with the presence of Christ that those around me are anxious for me to open the next one but I am content with the moment until it passes naturally.

Magic Every Moment – Dan Fogelberg

I awoke this morning to a shattering sound

And I went downstairs and found these shards of glass strewn all around

There upon the floor I found this poor broken dove

And it made me realize how very fragile is this life that we so love

I came back up to bed and I held you so tight

And I prayed up to the Father, oh I prayed with all my might

That He'd always keep you with me, that He'd always keep you safe

And when I went downstairs I found that dove had somehow up and flown away

There's a magic every moment

There's a miracles each day

There's a magic every moment

Oh won't you let the music play

Oh won't you let the music play

On a high and windy island I was gazing out to sea

When a long forgotten feeling came and took control of me

It was then the clouds burst open and the sun came pouring through

When it hit those dancing waters in an instant all eternity I knew

There's so much we take for granted--there's so much we never say

We get caught up in the motion of just a living day to day

We are fettered to the future; we are prisoners of the past

And we never seem to notice 'til our lives have finally

Slipped right through our grasp

There's a magic every moment

There's a miracles each day

There's a magic every moment

Oh won't you let the music play

Oh won't you let the music play

You can see forever in a single drop of dew

You can see that same forever if you look down deep inside of you

There's a spark of the creator in every living thing

He respects me when I work but He so loves me when I sing

There's a magic every moment

There's a miracles each day

There's a magic every moment

Oh won't you let the music play

Oh won't you let the music play

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store." 

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)