Crossing the Great Waters

This week I am reposting one of the most read posts of this blog site, fro 2015, because it is quite relevant to our focus on the Life Them of TRAVEL this month. Enjoy!

 

From the I-Ching (Taoist Book of Changes):

Hexagram 5:

“Perseverance brings good fortune.

It furthers one to cross the great water.”

Water; cross the great water

Central notion of the traditional interpretation of the I Ching. Meaning: to finish the old (and take final leave of it) and to address the new.

Crossing the Great Waters is a mode of Crossing the Threshold referred to frequently in the Taoist I Ching, or the Book of Changes. Crossing the Great Waters is about a major departure by which you leave behind that which no longer suits your life and venture forth into what might even be uncharted waters in order to arrive at a greater life destination.  Water is an important element (literally!) for this sort of transition because it is fluid and flexible. Your destination might change in the process of casting yourself upon the Ocean of possibilities and challenge. A Sea Voyage can be transformative; ergo the expression of a Sea Change to refer to a major shift in life potentials and outlook.

Gandalf collecting Frodo and Bilbo at the end of Return of the King to usher them onto an elvish boat that heads out over the waters is an apt conclusion to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings cycle because after their heroic adventures have transformed Bilbo and Frodo, how can they remain contented in their life at the Shire? They are heroic adventurers; they must go where the winds and the waters call them!

What about you? Have you ever crossed the great waters? What did that action require? What have been the results?

Or is there a calling for you to yet cross the great waters that could transport you to the fulfillment of your life purpose and the realization of your Life Dream?

Some departures are ready made adventures, built into a committed course of action. Graduation from high school or college ends one state of preparatory training so that you are ready to embark upon a life changing process that often involves relocating and taking on new responsibilities and relationships.

Other Crossings require foresight and visioning. Take the time you need to contemplate deeply about life’s possibilities. Envision the best direction to take if you would aim to achieve a yet unrealized goal. How then can you cross the great waters to arrive at this destination?

Death itself can be considered a matter of Crossing the Great Waters, but any true departure is like a death and rebirth into another mode of Being. You do not have to wait for this lifetime to be completed before venturing forth.

I welcome your insights and stories!

Your Origin Story — “I Am Who I Am Today, Because…”

All Peoples, as well as individual persons, have an Origin Story. How you answer the journaling prompt, “I am who I am today, because…” frames your construction of meaningful shaping factors; the most significant people, places and situations influencing the person you have become. Just as a stimulus so that YOU will start journaling on this topic, here is a brief response of my own:

I am who I am today because…I both feared and loved a father who both inspired me and fostered in me deep inhibitions. My complex relationship with him led to relationships with complex individuals ever since. Yet there is more. I am who I am today because of the spiritual essence of who I AM as Soul, independently of this specific lifetime or personality. I believe the outer circumstances mirror the inner ambitions and lessons I am here to learn and apply as a Soul with potentials both within and beyond this lifetime. 

You are, of course, so much more than merely the product of your early or major influences. Yet, as you embark on your own adventure in Life Mapping it is helpful to recall where you have come from in order to better reflect upon where it is you would like to arrive. For that is the aim of Life Mapping; ultimately it is to chart a clearer course so you can Live Your Dream, Now!

Wherever you are in relation to your deepest values and goals, Life Mapping can help you to clarify your Vision and to embrace your highest potentials. As you set out upon your Heroic Adventure, consider this beautiful poem from Cavafy, “Ithaca”, which you may take along with you on your Journey:

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon — do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

                              — Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)

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Feel free to share, publicly or privately if you wish, insights you gain from writing or contemplating this Origin Story prompt, Step I of your Life Mapping adventure at betterendingsnow.com. And always, if you enjoy this site, you may Follow to receive daily Better Endings by email, and I hope that you will Share with your Friends.

Related articles

• It is not the destination that matters but the journey. (throughgreekeyes.wordpress.com)
• Ithaka / Itaca by K. P. Kavafis (thewanderer126.wordpress.com)