By Peter Abreo –
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, refers to a plot as the most important element of storytelling, he goes on to define a plot as, an arrangement of incidents – structured logically – in a manner that follows a beginning, middle and end.
Storytellers have existed for thousands of years, with the magi, seers, bards and shamans depicting experiences more than 30,000 years ago. In ancient mythology, etiological stories explain the origins and causes of events, customs, or natural phenomena. They often feature gods, monsters or heroes who performed actions that have shaped the world today. Most of these stories have a determined path, a journey, experiences, a cause and its effect and most often a joyful ending and celebration.
The popular Disney movie, Lion King is one such example of a plot that journeys through the circle of life; moving from birth, early years, periods of despair and disillusionment, faith, love, courage, an unwinding path and the return to glory.
The Apostles’ Creed, a foundational statement of faith for Christians, commands a narrative that follows the same sequence what Aristotle referred to as the beginning-middle- and end:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, I believe in Jesus Christ…………………………..who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried……………………..he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father………………………………..I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, resurrection of the body and life everlasting,
Let us try and decipher the important messages in these stories that can help us comprehend the times we are going through, while seeking inspiration to transcend all despair and difficulties through the teachings of our ancient masters.
The Beginning:
In the Lion King, animals from all over the kingdom gather to witness the birth of the new Lion prince. Simba is then raised high above Pride Rock and baptized by the spiritual shaman Rafiki, who places a painted emblem in the middle of Simba’s forehead.
This act of blessing the middle of the forehead can be seen across various religions; the Catholic sacrament of Baptism and its renewal during Ash Wednesday and the Hindu Vibhuti ceremony to symbolize the importance of mortal life, the removal of pride and ignorance and the renouncement of bad karma or actions. Receiving the ash in the middle of the forehead represents anointing the location known as the third eye, also known as pineal gland.
Our brain contains a small pine cone-shaped gland called the pineal gland. It’s about the size of a grain of rice. The pineal gland plays the role of controlling your sleep patterns, how you make decisions, and how you perceive reality. The gland produces a hormone called melatonin for these functions.
This tiny gland serves as your body’s light meter. It receives light cues from the eyes, causing it to produce melatonin that sends several hormonal messages to the body. The pineal gland transmits information about the length of daylight, a concept known as circadian rhythm.
In the Bible, Matthew 6:22 says, “If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light“. The verse is part of The Sermon on the Mount and compares the eye to a lamp of the body. The verse continues to say that ‘if the eye is clear, sound, healthy, unclouded, or honest and clear, the whole body will be full of light. However, if the eye is evil, the whole body will be full of darkness.’
The middle years:
Joseph Campbell who was popular for his interpretation of The Hero’s Journey, identified a pattern of three phases that all of us go through in our lives; separation, initiation and return. It typically follows the path of a hero or adventurer called to a task greater than himself; the inevitable descent into crisis, transformation from experiences and a return to normal life better equipped to manage all possible obstacles.
In the interminable story of Jesus’ life; from the time he emerged from his mother’s womb, their exile into Egypt, his early childhood, realisation of his purpose, his missing years, crucifixion at the hands of the Romans, death and resurrection, we witness the passage of birth, separation, journey into the unknown, initiation and return.
While there has been much speculation about the missing years in Jesus’ life, his journey into the unknown, can be seen optimistically as a journey of experiencing the real world around him, only to return to his parents with advanced wisdom and stature to bring God and man closer to each other.
The missing years post crucifixion, is however a lesson for humanity with an eternal message that all will be well, despite the 2000 years of tyranny and trauma, war, steroidal and shadowed existence, disrespect for women, cruelty and dominion over nature. It seems like the rule of the Roman empire; a circus of power, dictatorship, narcissism, invasions, slavery………………………..has been reenacted for us to understand what Jesus went through.
His resurrection marked his return from exile and his reentry into the presence of God, to lead us towards our own return from darkness, oppression, trauma, distraction, weakness, stress and more.
In the ever powerful Novena to our Lady of Perpetual Help, we pray, “O Lord, look upon your servants laboring under bodily weakness. Cherish and revive the souls which you have created so that, purified by our sufferings, we may soon find ourselves healed by Your mercy through Christ, our Lord. Amen.”
Return, Resurrection and Redemption:
A powerful prayer that has always been part of our family Rosary summarises the journey of humanity so beautifully for us. As banished children of Eve, we ventured into a shadowed existence without God, only to return to the blessed fruit of our Mother’s womb.
Our resurrection from Heavenly exile, will manifest when each one of us turn our attention to our most gracious advocate, Mary and our heavenly father, when we embody the indomitable spirit and renounce the flesh and when we submit to the true ruler of our universal kingdom and not the false one.
Responding to a question from the Pharisees about when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here! ‘ or ‘See there! ‘ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).
In Peter 2:4, the term ‘Living Stones’, is used to describe the relationship between Jesus and his followers. The following verses say, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”.
“People stumble because they don’t obey what God says. This is what God planned to happen to those people”.
“Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul”.
In his ever popular poem, The Second Coming, W.B Yeats, reconstructed the return of Christ in his own creative way:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out, when a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,a gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
From what we see around us, isn’t it time to rise from twenty years of stony sleep. Isn’t it time for the falcon to hear the falconer. Isn’t it time to return to the innocence of our Mothers womb. Isn’t it time to overcome our nightmares and live our dreams. Isn’t it time for the weak (humble) to cast our passionate intensity over the strong (proud) and hasn’t the hour come for our King to be reborn in Bethlehem, while we cherish and revive our souls in his honour.
Peter Abreo currently works on habitat restoration and conservation projects around the Eastern Himalayas. He recently quit a three decade corporate career to pursue his interests in writing, music and spending time with nature. He can be reached at [email protected]