In my recent readings of mythology, I came across the myth of Narcissus. I've heard this one in simplified versions many, many times, but the context in which I was reading it gave me some interesting insights into what I feel is it's message. (To clarify; I am of an opinion that the Greek myths do not hold one single message. That is what is so wonderful about them. The message I'm talking about here is their message to me at this point in my life. I might read the story a week from now and get something totally different out of it. You might get something totally different out of it. And IMHO, those different interpretations are not only completely valid, they are all Truth. I'm sharing this just because I like looking at myths and stories from different perspectives, and think you might too.) So I'm sharing.
If you read the myths directly preceding the one in which he looks into the pool, you discover that he lived all of his life with a great handsomeness, so that all the women (and some men) in the land were in love with him. So lovely was he to look upon that women would literally throw themselves on him (as in the story of Echo), but he had not yet seen for himself his own beauty.
This beauty, to me, is a representation of the divinity and beauty within ourselves, the higher self we touch while meditating, the holy spark that caused religions across the globe to mark mankind out as 'made in God/ess's image'. This is the light that we see in those we love, the perfect, radiant, immortal inner self. Narcissus, at this point, is representative of many of us, who carry this great beauty inside ourselves and never see it for what it truly is. We are content, because others- friends and family- see it in us, and praise it. We may not always believe them, but it as acknowledged, and so contented.
But Narcissus does not stay in this state. Alone in the woods, exhausted by the hunt, hefinds a clear pool and looks into it. In the same way do we, who are not content with others assurances, seek solace and solitude deep within our psyche, exhausted from our endless searching. As he looks into the pool so do we, at last finding that which we have sought. As he sees a love worthy of his attentions, we see ourselves, that inner light which cannot be quenched, aglow in the deepest sanctum. Narcissus sees this perfection, and falls in love with it, rightly recognizing it's beauty.
But when he reaches into the water, the image breaks up and fades away. When the waters clear, the youth he loves is back once again, there but ever as unattainable as the sun. Whatever he does, he cannot touch that perfect face, cannot bring himself into union with that which already IS him. And so instead of walking away, bringing his beauty into the world and living out his life- thereby living out his life with that beauty- he stays at the pool, reaching, seeking, yearning, wasting away, no more fulfilled in his quest that he was at it's beginning.
And that, as I see it, is the lesson in the myth. When we encounter that beauty, that supernova of divinity, there is a temptation to see that beauty and want to stay with it, sit by it, watch it and neglect the world. But even then, happy as we may think we are in thepresence of this perfection, we cannot really reach it. We see it always there, we reach for it and trouble the waters, but ultimately cannot touch it, cannot experience it in its fullness and majesty. And so we stay, gazing but always failing to make contact, failing to touch the essence of us, thinking we are happy but in fact diminishing our own beauty, just as Narcissus becomes gaunt and haggard.
But even as we see that, there is a temptation to still stay, still remain in this half-presence of God/dess, thinking that we have at last found what we are looking for, have at last reached or Utopia. We don't leave, for fear of loosing what we have at long last 'gained'. People forget this; that the pool is nothing but a reflection of the self. Does a mirror reflect back something not placed in front of it? When humans confront themselves, they can become so caught up in that, so swept away by the beauty they've touched, that they forget it is themselves. They forget that it is THEIR OWN self that they see, their own splendor. That only by forgetting it is their own can they- and no one else- diminish it. And so, in fear of the perceived loss, they focus only on it, to the neglect of all else. They focus on themselves, and in doing so, destroy themselves, because they do not focus on themselves as the Self. And so we loose what should be most precious to us.
Only by seeing, recognizing, and then embracing the self as the self can we truly reach that beauty we desire so much. Only by looking into the pool, seeing, and then walking away can we truly have what we seek. Narcissus stayed by the pool, trying to embrace a reflection of himself. Had he recognized it WAS himself, had he turned and brought that beauty back to the world, he would have truly had what he thought he saw in the pool. Mirrors can be tricky things; they show a world in front of us that is in truth, behind us. They deceive us until we believe we are only steps away from something amazing, something worth striving for, when we are actually headed in the wrong direction. They tell us we can reach something if only we can overcome that last inch of glass. And so we seek, we strive, always caught up in the mirror that is our soul, when the glories seen in the pond can only be fully realized when we can tear ourselves away from that vision.
I see this myth as a warning to the 'Seeking' religions and practices. We have a tendency to become so caught up in the self we see, we forget the self we ARE. I've had it happen to me while meditating. The place within becomes more appealing than the place without. We wrap ourselves in solitude, thinking that if only we can have some more time to work at it, we can reach that bliss of ultimate alignment. That if only we can reach through that thin layer of water, we will reach a perfect spiritual fulfillment. And so we hide ourselves away, letting our life dwindle and fade, as we are slowly eroded by this all-consuming search.
So the lesson of Narcissus tells us, then, to realize it is we who are beautiful. That we have what we have been seeking, and the only way to truly better ourselves is to live, life fully and truly, reveling in the world we have been given. It reaches into our cocoons of fanatical striving and tells us to embrace what we already have. It asks us to see that beauty and bring it to the world, so that we can live it fully. And it warns us that if we let ourselves get lost in that seeking, that reaching, that yearning for something we think we can attain, we will loose what we already have.
Does this mean we should neglect the Self, the place we reach through meditation and ritual? No, for without looking into the mirror, we may forget how divine we truly are. But it should be returned to, to fix your hair, straighten your tie, reapply your makeup. The mirror tells us what areas we have neglected or forgotten, and aids us as we go about fixing them. But all things are about balance. ‘Truth' religions forget to gaze into the pool, ‘Seeking' spirituality forgets to leave.
Balance, as usual, reigns. Remember yourself. Remember who you are, and how beautiful you are. Realize that the mirror exists- and embrace the life you have been given.
Thoughts, anyone? Agree? Disagree? Why?
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Yeah, I think the myth varies quite a bit depending on whose version you read. ^_^
Windwalker04:14 AM CST