Rethinking the Abyss

It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure. - Joseph Campbell

This quote has been on my mind as of late. We all have an abyss of sorts, don't we? Some dark place that we know exists, but we fear going down there. Could it be that our darkest abyss is in fact a doorway that opens to a world we were made for?

We tend to view our abyss as our destruction, but in reality, it may lead to our salvation. What do you think?

Rethinking Treasure

This morning, Joel Osteen delivered a message about doing the things in life that set in your heart. There are all sorts of powers that will set themselves against you when you set out to live your dreams, things which will test your resolve and shake you to the core.

Osteen later made a comment that really struck me as profound. He asked the question, "Where is the greatest treasure in all the world?" He then went on to say that it wasn't in the diamond mines of South Africa, or the oil fields of the Middle East. Rather, it lies just beneath the cemeteries and graveyards of our world. How many dreams lay down there, unrealized? How many books went unwritten? How many cures for diseases went undiscovered? How many deeds went undone out of the fear of stepping into our desire?

Harold Whitman writes, "Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

If we bury our dreams and desires too long, we may find that they will remain that way forever. Follow your bliss...

So baby dry your eyes
Save all the tears you've cried
Oh, that's what dreams are made of
Oh baby, we belong in a world that must be strong
Oh, that's what dreams are made of

And in the end on dreams we will depend
'Cause that's what love is made of
Van Halen - Dreams

Rethinking Gifts

As a parting gift, King Menelaus presented Telemachus with a precious silver bowl, fashioned by the gods themselves. Menelaus informed the prince that another mighty ruler had given him this gift, and that now it was being passed down to Telemachus. This action by Menelaus was very critical to the formation of Telemachus’s identity. Here was an older and wiser individual handing down a precious gift to a younger one. He entrusted Telemachus with something valuable. The unspoken message was that Telemachus was trustworthy. He was capable of keeping valuable treasures. He mattered.

Telemachus was still unaware as to the whereabouts of his father, and even worse, his mother’s suitors had flatly refused to leave his home. His problems were far from being resolved. But with this inner recognition of his true identity as heir to the throne of Ithaca, a king in his own right, things had begun to change dramatically. The tide was turning—because someone of influence had entered into one of the most important battles of his young life, the battle to realize his place in the world. Someone important believed in him.