Using the "armor of light”

[MonadicSpectrum]

Monadicspectrum,

I really loved your response. And they are always so full of wisdom, love and knowledge. But this part "Imagine if all stories only had service-to-other beings... It wouldn't be very entertaining." It really made me laugh, in the best way

Do you mean in terms of films etc, or mythology and spiritual text stories?

Thanks, aWanderer! I always enjoy reading your posts as well.

And I mainly mean in terms of movies and novels, but I think it can equally apply to mythology and spiritual stories. Any given story follows the standard plot line of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. In order for the action to rise to a climax, there must be a conflict which is most often generated through the use of polarized characters (i.e. the protagonist against the antagonist). In Star Wars, we have the Jedi versus the Sith. In Harry Potter, we have Harry and the Order versus Voldemort and the Death Eaters. In the Bible, we have God and angels versus Satan and the demons. It's rare for a popular story to be lacking in negative characters due to lack of conflict and mystery.

There is also the concept in stories in which the stark contrast between characters helps us understand the identity of both characters. We can most understand who Harry is when contrasted against Voldemort. Satan can be seen to be so evil when compared to Jesus. Similarly, service-to-self people provide contrast so we can better understand who we are as characters and vice versa. Without contrast of what something is not, it is difficult to understand what something is.