Sailing Home by Norman Fischer

Author:Norman Fischer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2008-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

What does this story tell us? That what’s alluring, what’s dangerous, the shimmering enchanting thing that perhaps we ought to flee from because it might turn us into beasts, cannot be avoided. You cannot run away from your desires, despite your terror and the mutiny that is brewing within your heart. If it turns out that you are transformed into a pig, well, you can be turned back into a person again, and you’ll be better off having seen life from the other side. So yes, you must embrace what’s enchanting, shimmering, alluring, and dangerous within you sometimes—but not naïvely, not without some fortification, some counterpotion, some instructions for how to proceed. Your spiritual practice, the meditation, prayers, or reflection that you do with a spirit of discipline and repetition, gives you not only courage, but also some necessary skill. You can go into the fire—but with the proper protection. And then you’ll be all right. The relief you’ll feel when you’ve gotten through this most difficult of passages will be so great that after you stop weeping with gratitude you’ll want to enjoy yourself for a while. Maybe you’ll feast on your brilliant escape for a whole year, simply basking in the glow of your accomplishment, feeling as if there’s no need to go on any further. But eventually you’ll recognize that you’re not home yet. There is still a long way to go.

The Circe story reminds me of a very poignant event that once happened to a close friend of mine. Happily married for many years, he suddenly found himself in a compelling flirtation with a much younger woman. She was just as passionately involved with him as he was with her. The feelings that were aroused in both of them were powerful. They both felt awake, aroused, open to life and love in ways they had never experienced before. On one hand the man was fascinated with these feelings, inexorably drawn forward into them. On the other, he loved and respected his wife; he had no desire to hurt her or to diminish their relationship in any way. Clear that he could not start an illicit love affair, he thought that the only thing he could do was to break off the confusing if wonderful relationship. The young woman reluctantly agreed, for she also respected the man’s wife and had no desire to cause harm. Yet the man’s heart told him that it was not right to stop seeing the young woman, that there was something important in their coming together. What to do? When I heard about the situation from my friend I was at first afraid for him and his wife. But then I thought, “After all, how can love be a bad thing? Maybe there’s a way to appreciate what’s going on without anyone being too hurt by it.” All three were good people, wishing the best for one another. They were courageous as well, capable of holding the difficulty of the situation within the arms of the spiritual practice they had all been committed to for a long time.

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