Awaking Darkon: A Realm of Adventure

Some friends and I got together to watch a documentary called Darkon.  What is Darkon?  Allow me the privilege of enlightening you.  Darkon is an imaginary medieval realm (anchored in the vicinity of Baltimore, MD) in which dark elves and various nations of men wage war!  Think of it sort of like Civil War Re-enactors... except instead of fake guns, they fight with fake weapons made of foam and cardboard.  Another exception is that these people are live-action role-players.  They do not simply re-enact a historic battle:  They actually wage war with their styrofoam weapons, smacking each other like wild lunatics, trying to subdue the opposing army.  Sounds fun, doesn't it?

I know that a lot of you will read that and think:  What a bunch of nerds.  I mean, hey - that's what I thought when I watched the documentary too.  But there is something deeper happening in these people's lives that a little observation reveals.  During multiple interviews during the documentary, different dark elves and lords of the realm admitted that this is a form of release to them:  This is their form of adventure and action in an otherwise dull life.  I think that they have found something most of us are still missing.  I think in some ways these men (and a few women) are actually more whole than a lot of us are.  You may be asking, how could this be possible?  At least I can talk to somebody of the opposite sex!  Touché, however, they may have something that you do not.  Adventure.

As children of the God of Creation, we have a spirit of adventure inside of us.  Everybody does.  Men want to be knights and princes, battling dragons and saving the damsel in distress; women want to share in the adventure as well and be saved by a dashingly handsome prince and live happily ever after.  That is adventure.  What do you do that's adventurous?  Perhaps it is time to awaken the realm of Darkon inside of you.

Understand me:  I am not saying that we should move to Baltimore and start a race of imaginary dwarves or anything like that.  What I am saying is that in this American life, we lack so much of who God has made us to be.  And that is a shame.  What holds you back?  What binds you?  These warriors of the Realm met wherever they could:  soccer fields, wooded knolls, inside a school gymnasium.  In spite of ridicule, bruises from blunted arrows, and a lack of property, they don't let anything stop them from living an adventure.  Maybe it is time that we throw away our facade that says we have it all together, and we're living the life we want.  Maybe it is time that we embrace a little craziness and adventure in our life, even if it means we may be ridiculed by our friends.  There is a Spirit inside of you that you were always meant to become but that somebody inside of you got snuffed out by life's worries and obligations.  Forget your fear.  Free the adventurer inside of you and live life to the fullest!

Being ridiculous so I can have a little adventure:
Yep... that's a snow angel... in a pair of shorts (and gloves).