As part of my preparation for my pilgrimage to Greece, I reread Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey. Now, before you start thinking I’m some kind of crazy, I have to tell you that I actually purchased and read Gareth Hinds’ beautifully illustrated graphic novel versions. And I skipped the boring parts.
The Odyssey is the classic tale of the hero’s journey. Odysseus sets out from his home on the island of Ithaca to fight in the Trojan war, leaving behind his wife, Penelope, and their infant son. The war lasts ten years, and it takes him another ten years to make it back home. Those last ten years are the stories that make up The Odyssey, a series of adventures and encounters with monsters and sorceresses. When he finally does make it back to Ithaca, he finds his home has been invaded by scores of suitors, young men vying for Penelope’s hand as it is presumed that Odysseus has died. Once the suitors are taken care of, Odysseus is truly “home.”
This archetypal story has endured the centuries because it is all of our stories. We each embark on our individual journey, finding our way, encountering danger, temptation, and joy. We grapple with pain and sorrow, and other “monsters” in our lives. We learn to live as human beings in this world. And if our journey is successful, we will return home, back to our true selves, wiser, rejuvenated, and restored. Odysseus journeyed out of the chaos of war and eventually made it back home. Out of the chaos of our lives, if we pay attention to what we have encountered along the way, we can make the same trip back to our true selves.
I believe that we were born as pure sparks of divinity. Just look into the eyes of a young child. There is no guile, no deceit, no cunning. It’s the idea of original blessing, not original sin, that resonates with me.
As we mature and grow, we become more and more acquainted with the world. As a defense to what we encounter, we develop an ego that protects our tender original spark, a shield that prevents the storms of life from snuffing out that spark. Our adult ego leads us around until it no longer works for us. The lies that our egos tell us—“you’re not good enough,” “you are not special,” “you don’t matter”—begin to cause the spark within to dim. When we realize this truth, either from a critical mass of suffering, or through inner work, we become more conscious that this way of living doesn’t work. We wake up to the reality of our true selves, the original blessed child of light. This is the spiritual journey, the reflection of Odysseus’ tale.
This is what all hero’s journey stories teach us. The way back to ourselves, the way home, the way back to who we were created to be—not who we created our egos to be—is the journey we are each called to make.