More on Cohen's Anthem

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"That is the background of the whole record, ... if you have to come up with a philosophical ground, that is "Ring the bells that still can ring."  It's no excuse... for an abdication of your own personal responsibilities towards yourself.... "Ring the bells that still can ring.": they're few and far between but you can find them. "Forget your perfect offering", that is the hang-up, that you're gonna work this thing out. Because we confuse this idea and we've forgotten the central myth of our culture which is the expulsion from the garden of Eden. This situation does not admit of solution or perfection. This is not the place where you make things perfect.... The thing is imperfect. And worse, there is a crack in everything that you can put together, physical objects, mental objects, constructions of any kind. But that's where the light gets in, and that's where the resurrection is ..., that's where the repentance is. It is with the confrontation, with the brokenness of things."

~~ Leonard Cohen from Diamonds in the Line

I seem to be in a Cohen-state-of-mind lately. He is one amazing musical talent. His songs are poetry, philosophy and calls to action. The above quote is his explanation for the song Anthem, which I quoted in the past two entries.

There is no perfection in the world ~ we need to work with what we have, keep moving forward and find our deepest, truest selves in it all. Part of his explanation refers to the "central myth of our culture which is the expulsion from the garden of Eden" ~ which is true in terms of Western Abrahamic-based culture. Is it true in other cultures? Maybe. Maybe not. But I come from that particular culture and I understand his reference.

Do you agree with Cohen's philosophy? Do you believe that there is no perfection? that we are responsible for our lives in spite of that fact? For what do we need to repent? How does that repentance affect our lives?

Heroic Journey

In May of 2003, X2: X-Men United was released. I saw it at a matinee one Saturday ~ and later that same day, I picked up a friend and went to see it again. I recommended it to every person I knew ~ with caveats for those who have issues with violence. Was it the greatest movie I'd ever seen? No. Not even close. It was Wolverine's story arc that captured me: the Hero's Journey, a modern-day Hercules.

Like Hercules, Wolverine is massively strong, in a bull or elephant manner. Like Hercules, he is looking for a way to prove himself to, well, mostly to himself. He is a protector of the weak and a righter of wrongs. He takes on impossible feats to protect others, to right wrongs, to prove himself worthy of Olympus. Or in the case of Wolverine, worthy of Professor X and the X-Men.

What drew me to his story was its mythic quality. Wolverine is the consummate hero, yet racked by insecurities and even fears of his own strengths. Mythic stories always seem beyond us ~ except the Hero's Journey. In these stories we see a reflection of what is possible, of what we can do, of how our very weaknesses become integral to our strengths. We all walk that Hero's Journey. Not Wolverine's. Not Hercules's. Not each other's. Our own unique variation on the story. We are attracted to heroes because of their imperfections, their flaws. They make us recognize that we have strengths too, that we have the potential to be heroes.

To what Hero's Journey are you attracted? What positive characteristics do you have? What are your imperfections? How can or do you use these to make you stronger?