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Thursday, 21 August 2008
Archives 2006 Those Insightful Greeks
| Those Insightful Greeks | | Print | |
| Written by Ishamael | |
 His most significant emotional strength is in our hands. If we choose to use it. Greek myths explain the mysteries of the universe, while offering us an insight into our own nature. They teach us how to act, and how not to act, in order to be happy. Breaking the Patterns: Uranus, Zeus’ grandfather was a very bad parent. He put his personal happiness above that of his family and incarcerated all of his children in his own body. He was afraid if he allow them any autonomy, he would be deposed from his lofty position as a ruler Chronos, which many sources mention as Zeus’ father, and Uranus’ offspring, became a tyrant in his own right. He, who suffered from parental abuse and should have known better, repeated the mistake of his sire. Worried about his continuing leadership, he chose to meticulously control his own children. He ate all of his sons, and was planning to keep them inside for all eternity. Zeus, a son of an abusive father, and grandchild of a tyrant, broke the chain. A few unflattering comments can be made about his character, but one thing was clear. Among the uncountable numbers of children he had, he loved everyone. Not once had it crossed his mind to limit their freedom out of fear for his own leadership. Even though his male side of the family trained him in the tradition of abuse, Zeus found inside the courage to rise above his circumstances. He judged his children according to their behavior, rather than the perceived threat of being deposed. His relationship with the two godly children sufficiently illustrates this assertion. The ruler of gods disliked his son Ares for his militant character, and favored his daughter Athena, even though she objectively posed a greater threat to Zeus’ own dominion aided by her unfathomable wisdom. Zeus, in many ways, represents the ideal parent, who gives his children exactly what they need, rather than what they want. Ares, the god of aggressiveness, always demanded some kind of war from his father. Most parents would be too worried to refuse the request of their beloved offspring. To them, denial of the child’s desire might indicate their failure in the parental duty. However, Zeus wisely concludes that sometimes temperance is the best method of education. Zeus came to this conclusion during the Trojan War, when his blood thirsty son required more and more casualties to satisfy his enormous hunger for pain. The elder god knew that total freedom would ruin Ares, encouraging him in an unhealthy appetite, until it was too late to turn back, and so he refused his request. Even while concerned about the tension between himself and Ares, the greatest of gods still made the right choice. In his actions, Zeus exemplifies the most balanced approach to breaking the patterns. He went away from the automatically negative attitude towards his children, but he equally rejected the temptation of overindulgence. Many a parent, raised in strict families themselves, will compensate for it by extreme leniency towards their children. Not so the master of the gods. He escaped the tyranny in himself, and the possible weakness. He didn’t have any role models among the elder gods, and yet, managed to develop a well rounded and utterly balanced personality. His most significant emotional strength is in our hands. If we choose to use it. This is indeed the crucial factor. While we yearn for the freedom of choice and are willing to fight for it, we are often afraid to make the really important choices, if they differ from the familiar. The choice doesn’t have to imply any physical action. It might be just an inward decision to change. A simple resolution to act differently would do, if it is likely to improve the situation. It is an incredibly great feeling to believe we can change our own position. Why wouldn’t we do just about anything to bring an improvement? Possibly, because the deviation from the standard is emotionally uncomfortable. That is the reason we would rather perpetuate bad habits, passing them from generation to generation, than stop and objectively consider them. In fact, many of us use our upbringing as an excuse to keep making such mistakes. But wouldn’t it be better, to embrace the greatest power of an immortal god––the power to change his inborn patterns––and change ourselves for the better? After all, our greatest right is the right to be happy. We have this right from birth, unconditionally, no matter who we are, and only we, ourselves, can exercise this right. In the long run, Zeus’ emotional discomfort at breaking away from his family tradition was only momentary. His happy relationship with his children lasted forever and it was the direct result of his actions. His greatness, therefore, didn’t depend on any supernatural powers. Essentially, he is as strong as we are, or as weak as we are, for he represents the human ideal. And if he broke away from negative patterns, so can we. ISHAMAELis a mathematician, a hypnotherapist, and a rune reader, who has been practicing numerology for years and developed his own unique methods, based on his knowledge of math and ancient cultures. For further questions, contact Ishamael, |
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