"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 (Yes Guardians of the Galaxy 3 rocked!) and nightly preside over our High Definition TV screens, it is easy to overlook the SUPER HEROIC actions of the individuals who cross our paths every day. They seek no fanfare from the Fanboy set, nor do they think of themselves as anything resembling the stories myths are transcribed from. Yet, it is the cumulative energy from these SPECTACULAR SPIRITS and their always active Love Lights that express the space of eternal soulful expansion. Which is the true essence of why we are all here and hold the code of The Superhero's Journey edict.
Several years ago, I had the privilege of hearing one extraordinary example of the visceral impact of such heroic power through a humble caretaker of my mom's dear friend. My mother had been assisting her friend Kate for over ten years. During which time her health had slowly declined from a pastiche of ailments including MS, diabetes, and recently the loss of her right arm. She had no family around to aid in her daily care taking routine, and let's just say there is a HUGE disparity between the manner in which her various nursing team cared for Kate and her substantial physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
Several years ago, my mom, as part of her daily routine, stopped in to check on Kate and found her to be in wonderful spirits. This was very much due to the fact that her current caretaker is a tiny woman of Indian descent named Makela who engages Kate with true compassion, grace, and absolute joyful 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 spreads during her weekends with her. She patiently does Kate's hair and makeup, takes the time to buy and prepare healthy meals and engages her with words of support and devotion, rather than ‘duty’ and ‘down talking.’
This morning, 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 Mekala 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 thought what a world of transcendent glory we would all be a part of if we lived those words. For they would indeed challenge the heart of even the stingiest of GRINCHES to move three larger sizes. And reminds me to live 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.”
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 be one that does that for you, me, and everyone we share it with.
Because it is precisely these little known SUPER HEROIC TALES that contain the spiritual guidance and wisdom that can INSPIRE us all to live our lives as the Heroes and Heroines we were always meant to be!
BE SUPER HEROIC!
LOVE-SERVE-INSPIRE
Nerdmaste,
Jeffrey Louis Martinez
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