"There is a story in the Talmud about a king who had a son who went astray. The son was told, 'Return to your father.' The son replied that he could not. The king then sent a messenger to the son with the message...'Come back to me as far as you can, and I will meet you the rest of the way.”
~~Reuven (THE CHOSEN)
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Here is a story that seems to me to embody the essential image of living one's life, finding it and having the courage to pursue it. It comes from an Arthurian romance, La Queste del Saint Graal, by an anonymous thirteenth-century monk.
There's a moment there in Arthur's banquet hall when all the knights are assembled around the Round Table. Arthur would not let anyone start to eat until an adventure had occurred. Well, in those days adventures were rather normal, so people didn't go hungry for long.
They were waiting for this day's adventure, and it did indeed occur. The Holy Grail showed itself to the assembled knights - not in its full glory but covered with a great radiant cloth. Then it withdrew. All were left ravished, sitting there in awe.
Finally, Gawain, Arthur's nephew, stood up and said, "I propose a vow to this company, that we should all go in quest of that Grail to behold it unveiled."
Now we come to the text that interested me. The text reads, "They thought it would be a disgrace to go forth in a group. Each entered the Forest Adventurous at that point which he himself had chosen, where it was darkest and there was no way or path."
You enter the forest at the darkest point where there is no path. Where there is a way or path, it is someone else's path; each human being is a unique phenomenon.
The idea is to find your own pathway to bliss.
~~ Joseph Campbell (The Pathway to Bliss)
And as much as my geeky passion for the larger than life examples of Heroes and Heroines that fill our multiplexes and nightly preside over our high definition TV screens, it is easy to overlook the GRACEFUL and SUPER HEROIC actions of the individuals who cross our paths every day. They seek no fanfare from anyone, nor do they think of themselves as anything resembling the stories that myths are transcribed from. Yet, it is the cumulative energy from all these SPECTACULAR SPIRITS and their always active Love Lights. The lights that express the eternal soulful expansion that is the true essence of why we are all here and hold the code of The Superhero's edict--
BE LOVE - SERVE ALL - INSPIRE ALWAYS !
One extremely cold winter day back in 2016 ( the greater DC area had just been hit with a two foot blizzard), I had the privilege of experiencing a humbling, yet equally extraordinary example of the visceral impact from true super heroic power in action stemming from the most unassuming of places; an angelic caretaker of one of my mom's dear friends.
My mother had been diligently care taking for her friend Kate for nearly a decade. During which time her health had slowly declined from a pastiche of ailments including MS, diabetes, and most recently, the loss of her right arm. She had no family around to aid in her daily care taking routine. Without judgement, let's just say there was a huge disparity between the quality of care Kate received. Mostly dependent upon which member of her carousel of a care team showed up each day. All to treat Kate and her substantial physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
On this particular morning, my mom, as part of her daily routine, stopped in to check on Kate and found her to be, as per usual, in wonderful spirits. Despite her debilitating life situation, Kate was often seemingly oblivious to her own barrage of pain and suffering. But helping matters that day were brought upon by her (and our) favorite caretaker, Maleka. A tiny, unassuming woman of Indian descent who engaged Kate with true compassion, grace, and absolute joy filled dignity. Although a low hourly wage worker, one would think she was Kate's daughter or sister in the manner of delicate and deliberate LOVE she spread during her weekends with her. She patiently did Kate's hair and makeup. And was the only member of her care team that took the time to buy and prepare Kate healthy meals. Not to mention the soft manner her words usually overtook Kate, mimicking a serenade between lovers and friends. Always engaging her with words of support and devotion, rather than ‘duty’ and ‘down talking.’
On this particular day, prior to leaving Kate's morning visit, my mother stopped Melaka, grabbed her by the arm and said, "You are truly an ANGEL on this earth.” To which Maleka humbly replied, “ I am NO angel. An Angel would be someone who would care for Kate if she were her enemy. And I LOVE Kate.”
Upon hearing this story, I was immediately awestruck. Nearly dumbfounded and emotionally charged with the feelings of "What if, and if only.' For what a world of transcendent glory could it be if only we committed to living by and through those words. For they would indeed challenge the heart of even the stingiest of GRINCHES to grow three larger sizes. And it also reminded me of yet another luminary quote coined by Campbell, “At such moments you realize you and the other are, in fact, ONE. It's a big realization. Survival is the SECOND law of life. The first is that WE ARE ALL ONE.” Something the World seems to now gleam as little more than a light in our collective rearview mirror....
Traditional MYTHS and legends throughout our history have served as ‘teaching tales’ for humanity. We learn and are reminded of courage and compassion, humility and goodness, fear and heroism, life and death, and everything in between. It is my hope that this small story of MYTHOLOGICAL proportions in my nerdy eyes, may be one that does that for each and everyone we share it with.
Because it is precisely these little known TALES that contain the spiritual guidance and remembrance that can INSPIRE us all to live our lives as the Superheroes and Superheroines we were always meant to be!
BE SUPER HEROIC!
BE LOVE - SERVE ALL - INSPIRE ALWAYS
Nerdmaste,
Jeffrey Louis Martinez
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