Plasticstrength
The fake power that leaves us empty and detached.
Dragonstrength is the antidote to plasticstrength.
Plasticstrength is the artificial, empty illusion of strength that we might build up when we’re out of touch with the dragons.
It’s called plasticstrength, because it’s as fake as a plastic plant.
A plastic plant can look nice and healthy from a distance, but there’s no life in it, it doesn’t produce any oxygen, it cannot nurture anyone, and its smell is artificial.
There’s nothing wrong with plastic plants, if they are used for their purpose of art or decoration. But they could be harmful, if they were used as actual plants.
Plasticstrength can have real effects in the world.
In human history, political and business empires have been built with plasticstrength.
People who are out of touch with the dragons can develop plasticstrength.
Someone who developed great plasticstrength can create the illusion of giving hold and leadership.
Someone who developed great plasticstrength can offer plasticstrength to disrooted people.
People who are out of touch with the dragons can still have human strength.
They can feel love, compassion, friendship, hope.
But they can be shaken by events and get hurt.
If they get hurt, they can lose some of their human strength.
If they lose too much human strength, they can get overwhelmed by fear, insecurity, and frustration.
If they get overwhelmed by fear, insecurity, and frustration, they can become disrooted.
People who become disrooted crave for signs of strength.
They can fall into the trap of plasticstrength.
They can develop plasticstrength themselves.
They can feel a strong attraction towards someone else’s plasticstrength.
The essence of plasticstrength is insincerity.
Insincerity nurtures the ego.
Plasticstrength can fill the ego with the illusion of confidence.
Ego without illusion is hollow.
Realizing its own hollowness is the biggest threat to the ego.
Facing their own insincerity is the biggest threat to those who fell into the trap of plasticstrength.
Plasticstrength can turn fear, insecurity, and frustration into aggression, judgment, and greed.
People with great plasticstrength can use aggression, judgment, and greed as tools to lead disrooted people.
The essence of dragonstrength is love.
Dragonfriends never judge.
To dragonfriends, no-one is lost.
Dragonfriends direct their love and give strength.
Dragonfriends can direct their love to disrooted people.
Dragonfriends can direct their love to people with great plasticstrength.
Dragonfriends can give the strength to disintegrate aggression, judgment, and greed.
Dragonfriends can give the strength to overcome fear, insecurity, and frustration.
Dragonfriends can give the strength to find sincerity.
Dragonfriends can put people in touch with the dragons.
The dragons can fill all hollowness.
This is how dragonstrength is the antidote to plasticstrength.*
Those who want to develop their own dragonstrength need to go on the journey to become friends with the dragons.
Metaphors for lovers of rationality
You can take the dragons as metaphors for deep emotions that come up inside us. You can take the concepts of dragonfriends, dragonstrength and plasticstrength as metaphors for different outcomes of our emotional coping mechanisms.
This is my third dragon story. Read the first one about Dragonstrength or the fourth one about what I actually mean by “Dragons”.
If you want to read more, just “follow me” here or subscribe to my new Substack Newsletter (I’ll post ca. 1 story per week).
