 In Greek legend, the Gordian knot was the name given to an intricate knot used by Gordius to secure his oxcart. Gordius, who was a poor peasant, arrived with his wife in a public square of Phrygia in an oxcart. An oracle had informed the populace that their future king would come riding in a wagon. Seeing Gordius, the people made him king. In gratitude, Gordius dedicated his oxcart to Zeus, tying it up with a peculiar knot. An oracle foretold that he who untied the knot would rule all of Asia.
Many people tried to undo the knot but all to no avail. In 333 B.C. Alexander the Great had invaded Asia Minor and arrived in the central mountains at the town of Gordium; he was 23. Undefeated, but without a decisive victory either, he was in need of an omen to prove to his troops and his enemies that the outcome of his mission - to conquer the known world - was possible. In Gordium, by the Temple of the Zeus Basilica, was the ox cart, which had been put there by the King of Phrygia over 100 years before. The staves of the cart were tied together in a complex knot with the ends tucked away inside. Having arrived at Gordium it was inconceivable that the young, impetuous King would not tackle the legendary "Gordian Knot". Alexander climbed the hill and approached the cart as a crowd of curious Macedonians and Phrygians gathered around. They watched intently as Alexander struggled with the knot and became frustrated. Alexander, stepping back, called out, "What does it matter how I loose it?" With that, he drew his sword, and in one powerful stroke severed the knot. That night there was a huge electrical storm, which the seers conveniently interpreted to mean the gods were pleased with the actions of this so-called Son of Zeus who had cut the Gordian knot.  Change is hard, it is not easy, we get accustomed to certain ways and certain things in our life, even if those things are harmful to ourselves or to the people around us, we get comfortable with the chaos, we become blind to the dysfunction, we can no longer see any other way of living, our vision shrinks and before long we are seeing only in tunnel vision, no foreseeable hope for the future, for it is not our time.
Indeed, change is hard, very hard............ but I would argue that staying the same is even harder, change is the only guarantee we have in life, we must adapt to the times, adapt to our life, and adapt to our life stages, when we fight against that change we form a dysfunction and a toxicity that invades our life like a virus, it will affect everything, every aspect of what is around us will become diseased, our lives will start to crumble before our very eyes, our family will watch as we become a blazing fireball destined to crash. So, in a nutshell, don't come to therapy on a whim, don't come to therapy thinking that things will get better overnight, therapists have no magic wands (our last name is not Potter), we do not mutter supernatural incantations ( we are not magicians), we cannot lay our hands and heal the sick ( we are not gods), we are normal people, we are just the boat that will help you get across the raging river you must row and navigate and you must want it. "Put on your armor ragged after fights hold up your sword you're leaving the light make yourself ready for the lords of the dark they'll watch your way so be cautious, quiet and hark"  My dog doesn't care if I am rich or poor, he doesn't care if i cant acquire the best stuff, he doesn't mind the house a little messy, he likes rides in our car, he loves them in fact, even though it's not a luxury sedan or SUV, he doesn't care what I look like, he doesn't care if I'm fat or skinny, he doesn't care how much money I have in my pocket (or don't have) he just likes me for me, this is a most noble trait.
 In 1923, while on a family road trip in Indiana, Bobbie—a two-year-old Scotch Collie was separated from his owners and lost. After an exhaustive search the broken-hearted family returned to their home in Oregon never expecting to see their beloved dog again. Six months later, Bobbie appeared on their doorstep mangy and scrawny with feet worn to the bone; he showed all the signs of having walked the entire way back alone. During his ordeal he crossed 2,551 miles (4,105 km) of plains, desert, and mountains in the winter to return home, an average of approximately 14 miles (23 km) per day. After his return to Silverton, he experienced a meteoric rise to fame. He was the subject of newspaper articles including Ripley's Believe It or Not!, books, and film. Bobbie played himself in the 1924 silent film The Call of the West. He received hundreds of letters from people around the world and was honored with a jewel-studded harness and collar, ribbons, and keys to cities. This kind of perseverance will get you through anything In 1850 a gardener called John Gray, together with his wife Jess and son John, arrived in Edinburgh. Unable to find work as a gardener he avoided the workhouse by joining the Edinburgh Police Force as a night watchman. To keep him company through the long winter nights John took on a partner, a diminutive Skye Terrier, his ‘watchdog’ called Bobby. Together John and Bobby became a familiar sight trudging through the old cobbled streets of Edinburgh. Through thick and thin, winter and summer, they were faithful friends. The years on the streets appear to have taken their toll on John, as he was treated by the Police Surgeon for tuberculosis. John eventually died of the disease on the 15th February 1858 and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. Bobby soon touched the hearts of the local residents when he refused to leave his master's grave, even in the worst weather conditions. The gardener and keeper of Greyfriars tried on many occasions to evict Bobby from the Kirkyard. In the end he gave up and provided a shelter for Bobby by placing sacking beneath two tablestones at the side of John Gray’s grave. Bobby’s fame spread throughout Edinburgh. It is reported that almost on a daily basis the crowds would gather at the entrance of the Kirkyard waiting for the one o'clock gun that would signal the appearance of Bobby leaving the grave for his midday meal. Bobby would follow William Dow, a local joiner and cabinet maker to the same Coffee House that he had frequented with his now dead master, where he was given a meal. In 1867 a new bye-law was passed that required all dogs to be licensed in the city or they would be destroyed. Sir William Chambers (The Lord Provost of Edinburgh) decided to pay Bobby's licence and presented him with a collar with a brass inscription "Greyfriars Bobby from the Lord Provost 1867 licensed". This can be seen at the Museum of Edinburgh. The kind folk of Edinburgh took good care of Bobby, but still he remained loyal to his master. For fourteen years the dead man's faithful dog kept constant watch and guard over the grave until his own death in 1872. Baroness Angelia Georgina Burdett-Coutts, President of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA, was so deeply moved by his story that she asked the City Council for permission to erect a granite fountain with a statue of Bobby placed on top. William Brody sculptured the statue from life, and it was unveiled without ceremony in November 1873, opposite Greyfriars Kirkyard. And it is with that, that Scotland’s Capital city will always remember its most famous and faithful dog. Bobby's headstone reads "Greyfriars Bobby - died 14th January 1872 - aged 16 years - Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all".  Text and Pictures from http://www.historic-uk.com/
 The moment we are born we are given two gifts, the great gift of life, which in itself is an intriguing, mystical, puzzle, it is a fun mystery to try to solve, but we are also given the gift of death, inevitability, and the end will come to us all, it is a guarantee, a man once said, "no one gets out alive", indeed, how true was that statement. When we are given a gift such as life, it will always contain two polar opposites, there will be joy and there will be pain, there is no escaping that formula, anything we are given always has a light and dark element, there can be no black with out white, no tall without short, no night without day and no joy without pain.
A panacea is the idea that there is a cure-all, a magic bullet, a solution to all life's suffering, the only solution you will ever find to reduce your suffering is to accept it as a gift that has been bestowed upon you the moment you were born, both joy and pain are yours and they are a little easier when you accept both as they are  Eyes seem like Nebulae and Galaxies  Brain Cells resemble the Universe  Trees look like upside down lungs And  Blood vessels, rivers and leaves match And the ancient people said, "As Above, So Below" And the modern people forget
I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity Dust in the wind All they are is dust in the wind Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see Dust in the wind All we are is dust in the wind Oh, ho, ho Now, don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky It slips away And all your money won't another minute buy Dust in the wind All we are is dust in the wind All we are is dust in the wind Dust in the wind Everything is dust in the wind Everything is dust in the wind The wind   We live out the days that are given to us sometimes with glib delight, sometimes with utter despair or sometimes a little mediocrity. This is a fact of life, our life is an existential roller-coaster full of ups and downs, whether we are riding high or sinking low with our emotions, feelings and thoughts we must be mindful about the many worlds that we live in. Sure, we live on Terra Firma, but the ground beneath our feet is not the only world we live in or on, we live in a multiplicity of worlds, we have the world of family, the world of friends, the world of spirit, the world of work, the world of self and so on. We need to pay attention to all of these worlds that we live in, we need to be mindful and reflect upon them from time to time, they need to be balanced for us to feel whole. Imagining these distinct worlds as interconnecting bubbles helps to give us a visualization of these worlds and how they affect us and our psyche.
Draw your many worlds around you, draw them all connecting, that union of all the circles is "you", you are the pivot around all these worlds that turn, any unbalancing will throw of the pivot, and they will turn erratically and without grace.  “…there are two gates through which dreams reach us. Those that come through the Ivory Gate cheat us with empty promises that never see fulfillment. Those that come through the Gate of Horn inform the dreamer of the truth.” Homer. The Odyssey Book XIX
About 150,000 (give or take a few) hours of your life will be spent working, striving and slaving to accumulate this money that has so much power in your life, basically one-third (1/3) of our time and life on this planet will be spent searching for this money, another third will be spent sleeping, the last third of our life or most of it will be spent taking care of necessary "things" in our life, chores, shopping for necessities, cleaning our house, or other things that need to be taken care of.........how much time does that leave for US?  |
AuthorCory Ian Shafer Archives
February 2020
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