Lessons from Ithaca

I recently had the opportunity to watch the epic rendition of Homer’s The Odyssey. While the film has had mixed reviews, it delivered reliability across multiple themes in every journey. All of these metaphors can quickly become diagnostic guides for exposed areas of a more personal odyssey.

Four scenes from the film struck me the hardest; I turned them into questions:

1. What songs do your sirens sing? One of the most memorable scenes in the movie touching on the internal battlefield that can destroy life.

When asked by his crew about the sirens song, Odysseus described it as follows:

“All the things you want it to be. Then all the things you wish you never wished for. It was the delicious itch you go to scratch… And find it under the skin, but can’t reach it. So the delicious itch becomes unbearable. Told you what you most want is what you most can’t have. And what you most can’t have is what you already had. And lost.”

We all have the regrets and/or identity grief that may torment us in the present. It’s an un survivable space that takes intention to navigate.

2. What is your Troy? The war or battle you can’t walk away from. These can be external or internal. In my life…these have been heavily attached to my identity and residual self. Who I was told to be, self actualized band-aides for unresolved trauma, formulas that have become outdated…. As we grow, the old versions need to die as only the new self can return home and build a future.

3. What is your Calypso? That comfortable prison that keeps you away from higher purpose. In his long journey home, the obstacle with the highest deterrence was comfort. What is being avoided through a false sense of safety?

4. Can you accept yourself? the current version… with all the sharp edges and flaws. In the end, with all the lessons, defeats, wins, and wisdom… are you happy with the version that survived. What bow can you string that others can’t? What do you need to fix, forgive or forget to keep moving forward?