Once Upon A Blog

It is curious to see how you can transform something so traditional and long into something concise and modern. The flexibility of literature does not stop surprising me. Take the story of Apollo’s son who attempts to drive his father chariot or car and ends up crashing it against the world.

Driving technique. Fail.

Even though his father warned him oh so many times to take the middle way and not let go, he still did it.

Ability to follow instructions. Fail.

The tediously long story was summarized and updated in Metamorphosis. There was a car, a therapist, and a school beating. For an “ancient” text I say it is a hell of an update. Nevertheless this text wasn’t the one which surprised me the most.

The juicy simplicity of the story of Psyche gave me some sort of peace. Besides the actual fact that what is says is surprisingly true, the way that the questions and answers where so direct left me astounded. Again, love appears in the story, but so does curiosity. Some say curiosity is good and healthy but in this case it punished the naïve Psyche.

Poor she, who ignored that all the jealous gossip, was as fake as those who spoke it. The ones who deserved the punishment for committing a capital sin, where the ones who forced the innocent, in love, Psyche to receive such disgrace. Even though the text is direct and very simple it touches the most complex themes in Metamorphosis. It deals with jealousy and how it takes down the ones who don’t deserve it. Gossip to make others fall into disgrace they don’t deserve and make others feel some sort of stupid superiority.

In this case the negative effects on Psyche did not take the best of her. She overcame all of the obstacles that other made her overcome, and still she left with the biggest prize. The eternal love of whom she loved.

“It’s just inevitable. The soul wonders in the dark, until it finds love. And so, wherever our love goes we find our soul.” Pg.76

Again love appears differently and in some way grotesquely in this segment of the play. Pomona and Vertumnus find that you can disguise love but true love has no cover, it is almost naked. It comes down to the original skin. The disguised love among the plant lovers finally comes to light after a rather disturbing story.  

A story of how love to a relative is a girl’s only desire. Considering the time period one can find that normal but from a modern point of view it is odd. But isn’t all loving odd?  People fall in love under the most unusual circumstances, and who are we to judge how others fall in love? I don’t think you can choose who you fall in love with, or who you stop loving.

 Let’s face it, gay love happens and other unusual forms of love happen. Just because we aren’t used to them are they really wrong? If it is not with me I really don’t mind this strange relationship, I don’t agree with it but I have no right to stop it.

“You can shut yourself in a room, bolt the door

But love will still come through the window

Draw the curtains, lock the casement,

But love will seep through the walls

Never think, never think that you can be safe from love.” Pg. 53

Love happens, so does life.

Greed and neediness are very common, not only in today’s society but in parts all over the world. This desire for everything has existed for decades, some call it need, others call it what they deserve. For me it is just greed. Since Orpheus and Eurydice were discussed in class the focus of this “self argument” is with Erysichthon. The story of a man who thought only for himself and was punished to the eternal wanting of everything, that would eventually lead to self destruction. A man so evil that he sold whom had held him as a burden for years. Nevertheless, this story does seem familiar. Look at today.

See how men women, children and elder are greedy and malicious thinking only for themselves, taking away the peace of others. This eternal wanting is not a punishment, it is a reality. See how greed is one of the mayor scenes, greed to say you deserve to have everything. Yeah, you don’t.  I mean selling your own mother does seem a little bit extreme, it is more like wanting someone you can’t have, or not sharing which are awfully common. I am sometimes greedy, we all are. It is quite natural, extreme greed in the other hand is completely uncalled for.

The writing of this story was awfully entertaining, the ending, though bit malicious gave it the wowing effect that all stories want to accomplish. Look at the following:

 “Narrator: There can be only one end to such a man.

Narrator: He will destroy himself

Ceres: Bon appétit.” Pg.40

I just can’t get over that ending.

Another superficial idea I noticed was how it was written. More as a dialogue than as couplets, in comparison to the other texts. The writing of the segment does not have the same romantic language as the others.

 We can see how this story does not refer to love as a romance form but how it makes reference to the grotesque part of love. The love for oneself, the love for food and material things, and the lack of love for whom he is supposed to love. Isn’t it awkward how something so beautiful and of such “magnitude” things can be converted into scrap.

Why do we even have greed? Eats the world out of me. 

Love stories. I hate them. I don’t even know why they bother on creating such stupid scenes that still suck and that anyways everyone sees. Even me. Why do we see love stories? Because they create a vague image of a distant idea we all want to have as a fact in our lives. This love story even though is very surrealistic, it is true. Endings are not always happy, and it is good to have this alternative point of view, for the sake of everyone who isn’t living in a fantasy. Love stories are the reason people break up.

 “Oh, Dear why cant you be like that vampire and sweep me off my feet”.

For starters he is human, and he is real. A nice comment reduced to stupidity. I am not being negative, I do believe that every relationship has its fairytale moments, but they are not actually a fairytale, or at least don’t end up like one.

This story can resemble the reality of people who where living in early war periods. Men went for war, promising they would come back. Some where lucky enough to keep that promise, the others were waiting to be called in as K.O. Maybe even in Greece when men went on conquering battles and left woman alone, anxious for their return. That for many would never happen.

I will take this story as a goodbye letter of those that could not get back to you. After all I do believe in fairytales.

Goodbye, my vampire will come and sweep me of my feet soon. 

The Creation was an initial input on how the world was created.  It is strange how what I suppose are Latin parts, were translated into English, allowing a pause for either thought or getting completely lost as to what was being said. After having to repeat the audio about 10 times I have managed to understand most of what was being said in the segment.

Basically there is this somewhat humanly creepy voice narrating the origins of our universe, which seemed to be a huge mole of everything, collided with everything. The things that we see everyday and think that couldn’t be together were once together.  The air, the land, and the vast oceans were gray and not hospitable. Things didn’t have any sense at all.  

The gods, (they never tell which, stupid voice!) then suddenly made everything fall into place. The opposites went their own direction. The light things aroused into heaven, and the heavy ones stayed at ground level. The welcoming arms or earth were wide open, the totality of where we know reside made complete sense.

Creation, can be categorized into the begging of a long sequel that explains how earth came to be how it is. It answers all or most of the QUESTions from a relatively original point of view. 

Finally we are definitely introduced to this supreme power that is constantly guiding Arjuana. The importance and God-like resemblance is finally described in the following teachings. The mission of the supreme creature, Krishna, is revealed as well. “I will teach you the totality of knowledge and judgment, this known, nothing else in the world need to be known.” Teaching 7. 2. If we look at the following citation it basically points out that Arjuana is Krishna’s student and that he will teach him all he needs to know to understand the upmost divinity of Krishna.

What are the teaching’s aspects?: “My nature has eight aspects: earth, water, fire, wind, space, mind, understanding, and individuality.” Teaching 7. 4. Take note of how the natural aspects are combined with the more human characteristics, and that they could be taught together. Maybe, meaning that the text could offer a human to nature bonding insight later on.  

According to sources Krishna is a Hindu god, the eight avatar. This piece of information might mean that he is training Arjuana to be his next reincarnation (the 9th avatar), teaching him all the previous pieces of information that the previous gods passed on to him and adding one more. Each teaching means a single reincarnation. Not only do we find new forms of culture but the whole idea is connected to the actual presence in front of the god; such practice is done by different cultures all over the world and only few devotees are actually successful, the art of meditation .

OM, being a single sound expulsed deep down from your diaphragm is said to represent the universe itself and divine Brahman. It is a stage where you meet your afterlife destiny and manage to get back to your body; you meet what only you can achieve in death and manage to reunite as yourself among the living. “Invoking the infinite spirit as the eternal syllable OM, remembering me as he abandons his body, he reached the absolute way.” Teaching 8. 13

“As an eon ends, all creatures fold into my natures, Arjuana and I create them again as a new eon begins.” Teaching 9. 7

*Eon: A specific amount of time.

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