The Beautiful Voyage

I've always found myself drawn to the adventures of Odysseus, his loyal wife Penelope, the various machinations played out in the Trojan War, and of course, fair divisive Helen (see Of Menelaus and Helen).


And then there's Ithaca, the famed island home of Odysseus, which he endeavors for ten long years to get back to. He is captured and spends seven years on Calypso's island. After escaping, he is waylaid by the witch Circe, a cyclops, a whirlpool, the legendary Sirens... and the list goes on and on.


Oh, but Ithaca, beautiful Ithaca, and fair Penelope, his loyal wife, beckon him homeward. My coworker Bob emailed me the following poem which I really enjoyed. It echoes that old adage about life being about the journey and not the destination.


                               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) 

Let's do it

Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, I'll start a blog

~adapted from a Cole Porter song

I've recently begun a new phase of my life: On March 1st, I left the city I've been living in for the past five years and returned to my parent's house. I'm not really working, have left behind many of my friends in New York and other places, am suffering from a recent heartbreak, and don't know what my plans are for the future. Without the luxury of having the Brooklyn Public Library a few blocks away, I find myself lacking an adequate means of procuring the foreign films and classic novels that I love. After a few weeks of moping around the house, I've grown bored, and have decided to buck up and get my act together. I have no idea who will read this thing, or if I even will tell people about it, but my general plan is to post things that I find interesting. I have a Moleskin that I carry around in which I write little things I have read. I suppose these observations shall inform much of what I post. I am a bit of a glutton when it comes to books, so when I'm not bemoaning my life (another favorite pastime of mine), I'll probably be talking literature. I'm also a bit of a tumbleweed, going wherever the wind blows me. I just returned from a month in India and before that was in the Middle East. Who knows where I shall end up, but stick around and you shall see.

A little note about the naming of this blog: I've been sitting around for weeks trying to figure out how I'd start my blog (the first entry seems so important!), and moreover, what I'd call it. I was thinking of calling it, "Waiting for Ulysses," in reference to Homer's The Odyssey. I find that I relate to Penelope, Ulysses' wife, who faithfully waits many years for her beloved to return to her from the war in Troy. I, too, am awaiting the arrival of my beloved, who, I can only assume is on his own Odyssey at this moment, all the while, making his way towards me. Just as Penelope is besieged by suitors, so am I tempted by men who would possess me and strip away my virtue. I'm growing anxious, and only pray that I can wait faithfully for he who my heart loves.

The name Dum Spiro Spero is the state motto for South Carolina, which is my home state. It is Latin for "While I breathe, I hope". I, like Alexander Pope, believe that "hope springs eternal in the human breast." My hope lies in many things, but most of all, I hope in a resurrection of my body and soul, a glorification of myself, and a wedding feast. I am a Christian, and as such, believe that we have every reason to hope, and to rejoice: we are intimately loved and cherished by the God who created us.

I hope you enjoy what you read and that you stick around for a bit.