C H I N S P I R A T I O N S . C O M

"earth of air"

The Princess with the Sword smiled and said, "I knew you'd visit me sooner or later!" I smiled back, embarrassed. "I'm sorry." She winked. "I know, because you weren't ready. Now you are."

"You had to first go within yourself and open your heart. See what you feared to see, feel what you dreaded to feel. Only then would you realize that what lives within you is nothing to be feared or dreaded, because what is inside is benign."

I shifted my right foot to buy a pause. She extended her hand. "Ready?" I reached out mine.

"All this dust around you, all this dirt and filth!" she exclaimed, "Cut away at them!"

"But this sword seems so... tiny and the altar is solid stone!" I said.

"That's what your perceptions tell you. When you perceive in limits of physics and rationality, you get stuck before you go anywhere else. This altar - it is dead. Your energy - you are alive. Your power is larger than any collection of deadened solid.

"This sword is just an extension of your strength, a reference point to help guide you at the beginning. Once you practice often enough, you don't even need to hold this sword to know what strength lies in your hands."