I watched as the massive beast was slowly rising,
terror struck like a hard punch to my stomach . . .
there was nowhere to go to get away from those big sharp teeth as the beast turned and
its mouth crushed everything in its path . . .

like a scene from a horror movie, the beast continued to rise
until it towered over me and I shrank back in fear trying to hide in the shadows—
as I watched, the beast seemed familiar – like I had seen it before . . .

I noticed that the “sheep’s clothing” the beast had worn was falling away from it
revealing a powerful wolf-like creature that was intent on the destruction of all it saw –
lying all around the beast, pieces of that clothing were discarded as no longer needed . . .
was that a smile? strangely, I could see some words were on slips of paper that
swirled in a whirlwind of unidentifiable debris – I saw total destruction in the wake
of the beast as its hunger crushed and then consumed all before it –
I turned away, terrified at the “vision” before my eyes . . .

a huge beast – a powerful mouth – an unstoppable force had appeared,
a nightmare unfolded before me and I could do nothing but watch . . .
out of the whirlwind, some words seemed to call out: “come on, let’s fix this,”
“you have been mistreated,”
“you deserve more,”
“I am the only one who can save you,”
“crush our enemies so right can be great again” —
was that the beast speaking? that voice, that horrible voice seemed familiar . . .

– – – – – – –
I was shaking as I woke up from this nightmare/vision – it had seemed so real—
what could it mean? was it a warning? what did the “beast” I saw represent?
was I just being silly over a terrifying nightmare or was it a message?

the “beast” destroyed all by its powerful mouth – that seems important – and
the “sheep’s clothing” falling off might mean the “beast” was not what it had appeared to be,
was deceptive and the words it spoke would appeal to and deceive many

maybe the appeal of the words blinded me and others and made it possible
for the “beast” to grow huge, to become an unstoppable force . . .
I’ll call it the “Beast of Blindness” that leads me to:
• see what I want to see,
• believe what I want to believe,
• hear what I want to hear and
• reject what challenges my “blindness” so MY story can be THE “truth”
regardless of the picture before my eyes blinded
by my own wants and “needs” which could result in the creation of
some often unexpected, repulsive “beasts” in my world

As MY rationalizations (sheep’s clothing) slip away and
the real “beast” is seen for what it is (a hard thing to do), I can either:
• defend my “Beast of Blindness” and
try to put the sheep’s clothing back on my beast or
• I can accept the humiliation of admitting I was a victim
of the “Beast of Blindness” and try to live through it . . .
hard, hard on my ego – almost impossible!

the “Beast of Blindness” can draw anyone into its story
by using fear, promises of wealth and power, enforcer of “right,” or revenge . . .
as long as “blindness” is embraced and shared with others and
total unquestioning loyalty to the “beast” is demonstrated, anyone can join

Enticing, a feast of lies prepared to appeal to my negative feelings
and make me a recruiter of others who “see” only
the benefits of the “Beast of Blindness”:
• membership in a “special” group
• shouting the “right” message
• condemning the “wrong” others and stopping them
• making the world by MY agenda and
• squashing the evil dissenters
as the “Beast of Blindness” welcomes all to join the “winning team”
with all deposited into the treasure chest of the “beast” . . .

My nightmare OR a Warning about the Beast of Blindness?