I think most people tie the notion of greed to material possessions: to hoarding and grasping. Perhaps they imagine an old man clasping his gold coins to his chest as futilely as the Western dragon guards his chest of gold. This is at least part of greed. But I wonder if the totality of greed doesn't extend to power and its arrogance; and to the complexities of insecurity.
By slaying our dragon, Campbell says, we free ourselves from our egos and possessiveness. This erases anxieties and social pressures and our desires to become what we are not.
Is there a connection between greediness and being a bully? Are people afflicted by greed due to fear of the future? of death and being forgotten?
The excesses of greed, like hatred,
are roots of malevolence born of insecurities;
driven by our lowest impulse.
Unchecked, these toxins annihilate,
vanquish all goodness and integrity.
Acknowledgment is the first step toward its demise.
By lessening the arrogance of egocentrism,
calming spurious self-doubts,
we sever our attachment to greed's corrosion.
Is the insecurity of greed but fears of death?
Understanding the sheer transiency of this journey,
striding toward disengagement,
we follow a wiser path.
Detaching, we step outside the shadows of greed:
we temper vengeance and recriminations,
weaknesses that yield the taste of emptiness.
The human spirit reaches its zenith when it surrenders
the roots of malevolence. Sunset comes too quickly.
