Another somewhat extended status. A professor I had as an undergrad, sometime in 1981 I believe, talked about a concept that popped into my mind last night as I lay waiting for sleep. Sadly I don’t recall his name because this concept is a great gift. He taught Greek and Roman Mythology, and during the semester he spoke about an idea held by many of the Greeks about the soul, and how it travels through the world. What these wiser than me people believed was that the soul faced backwards while the body moved forward in time. So we can only clearly see the past, at least through the eyes of the soul. Wisely these people saw that this was a way of perceiving life that had an inherent danger because the mind could become trapped in dissection of the past and distract the real human eyes from moving forward. It is a trap; an illusion, the past is indeed the past and we are indeed standing in Now and moving towards Later On. What a summer. I’ve been trapped, still am, but ah…last night. Thinking about the illusion of the soul, sojourning with hindsight always built in as a temptation, made me laugh out loud. The past…Man it has been a lot of fun and a lot of suffering hasn’t it? Remember when? Of course you do. Me too. I have misused a lot of time recently, thinking that where my soul was looking was where I was going. In 1981 a professor who I owe a debt of eternal gratitude to handed me a map. Last night I finally opened it. It is a beautiful document but I haven’t any idea what to do with it yet. I just know that it is a map, and they are documents that can lead you many places. Many of those places can be good; that is of course, assuming that you are acute at reading a map. Going to take some time, as much as it has to take apparently, to choose the destination, the streets, highways, and paths that lead to it, and what roadside attractions I should make sure not to miss on the way. This isn’t delusion; I’m nowhere and I know it, but I have a map. So I told him, aloud last night, that I’m sorry but the real work has to start, and it starts with letting him go. For real. No more dodging and hiding. Man have I got some great stories about the past and they will indeed be written someday. But this morning, before going and talking to the magician I pay to point out the obvious every week, Connie asked me what I was feeling. I shocked us both with my answer, and how quickly it came out. My answer was this one word: “Hope.”
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 16:17:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015