The Lion — The No That Sets You Free
One night, under a sky so clear it felt like glass, something inside you shifted.
You stood up straighter.
Your breath sharpened.
Your spirit grew claws.
You became the lion.
And in front of you rose the great dragon Nietzsche described—its scales glittering with a thousand commandments, each one engraved with the same words:
“THOU SHALT.”
Thou shalt be who they expect
Thou shalt not disappoint
Thou shalt follow the path already drawn
The lion in you didn’t roar out of anger.
It roared out of recognition.
You realized that to create your own life, you first had to claim your right to say no.
And so you did.
The dragon didn’t vanish in smoke or flame. It simply lost its power the moment you stopped bowing to it.