Ears to Hear

Reflections on the time around December 21, 1975

We are just back from a nice family getaway to celebrate the holidays. We went to the major city in our state to join in the festivities, and I definitely felt the Christmas spirit 🙂 On the way home, we talked about college choices. My stepdaughter has been admitted to three that she applied to but is waiting to hear from the two most competitive schools, one of which is her top choice. This type of waiting makes you think about the future and where it will lead, doesn’t it?

My thoughts also turned to my last Christmas before entering CGA. I enjoyed the time with my family but was itching to go out and make my mark in the world. “Where will my journey take me?”, I wondered.

Have you ever read the epic book about a man named Odysseus? It’s a story about leaving home, fulfilling a mission, facing many challenges, and then facing a crisis at home. Most re-tellings of Homer’s tale focus on the near-impossible feats that Odysseus had to perform, such as sailing through a narrow strait with dangerous rocks on both shores. Beautiful sirens with irresistible voices called from either side. The captain plugged the ears of the crew but tied himself to the mast to maintain situational awareness. He almost lost it, but they made it through and survived to face the next test, a journey into the underworld. BTW, a major motion picture based on this book is in the works.

What is the point of this story? What information pertains? I think Joseph Campbell, a self-taught scholar who spent many years immersed in ancient myths and legends, got it right. He saw a pattern in which a hero (or heroine) leaves home, faces tests, and then returns with new strengths and insights that serve those at home in a critically important way.

So, the point of The Odyssey is not the tests themselves but what Odysseus did when he was home at last. Having been absent for many years, other men were seeking to claim his wife and his kingdom. Because he was able to outsmart them and outperform them, he saved his wife, Penelope, and their son, Telemachus. That done, his island kingdom of Ithaca prospered under his rule. Telemachus himself grew strong and carried on his father’s legacy.

An appointment to the Coast Guard Academy is itself an odyssey. Your journey includes many tests and challenges, some of which will seem trivial and others of which will push you to the edge. I encourage you to look at these trials, including the boreass ones as well as the heroic ones, with a mythic mindset. Each of these tests will give you strengths and insights. These gifts are not meant to puff up your ego but to benefit those that you come back to when the trials are over.

I would invite you to consider the possibility that the challenges along your journey could be divinely ordained, that a higher power may be preparing you for a greater purpose that you don’t yet know anything about. For example, in my later years, I was called to navigate a three-year journey to other side of the Earth and back in the service of my wife and stepchildren. My cadet and officer experiences gave me the ability to lead this evolution, which has been successful far beyond what I expected. The end result will be a legacy I could not have foreseen at your age.

Blessings,

Robert Aleph