Remember Pandora? She’s the one who had been given a box by Zeus, who wanted to punish men (not women) for stealing his fire. Epimetheus, who loved Pandora, told her never to open the box. But Pandora's curiosity got the better of her and she opened it. And this released all the misfortunes of humankind (such as plague, sorrow, poverty, crime).So here’s the conundrum:
was Pandora right to open the box?
In terms of what I have previously written this can be answered either way.
Don’t pick the Fruit: One answer is that she should not have succumbed to the temptation of curiosity – or as I wrote earlier: she should not pick the fruit off the tree. She would sleep peacefully at night, and the world around her would be a safe place without struggle.
Just do it: Another answer is that by shutting down her curiosity she was eliminating the risk that is necessary for spiritual growth. She had to ‘just do it’ in order to be alive. Both are answers are right, and both are wrong.
And this is my personal pain – because I am a dialectical thinker.
I see both sides of the question. And as likely to choose either!
There is, however, a positive ending to the story. Pandora tried to close the box: but all the misfortunes had already escaped. After her initial despair, Pandora "chanced" to reopen the box again, at which point Hope fluttered out. And so humankind always has Hope in times of evil.
And I have Hope when I ask if I must open the box, or leave it closed!
2 comments:
After my initial despair in a recent decision that was made in my life, I too have now experienced hope and peace.
I had 2 dreams which I think helped me along the way to find that release I so desperately sought.I see in your profile that your Occupation is an 'Interpetor of Dreams' so I shall share my dreams with you and see what you think.
The first was like a flash- I was swimming in the ocean shallows, along towards my left and felt my right foot touch the ocean floor.
To my horror I felt the floor drop away suddenly to very great depths and I hurriedly swam away, back to safety.
The second- a friend and I were standing on top of a bank along the sea shore. It was a very steep bank (you know how the water washes away the sand very suddenly after a high spring tide) At the bottom the waves were lapping and I felt a sense of how fearsome it would be to try and swim out of the water with such a steep incline to trancend. As we walked away, I looked back and the whole incline was filled to the brim with water and I commented on how lucky we were that we were not in that turbulant sea, fighting for our lives!
Hi Anon:
Dreams are best interpreted by the dreamer. You will often have a sense of what is going on. So I suggest that you ask what the "fearsome thing" is that you want to escape....your swimming away, or walking away from the edge. Is this a real fear, or is it a challenge that you might need to return to?
You can also explore the feeling of relief and ask where this resonates in your life.
It is often helpful to write your dreams down and look for patters that reccur.
Thanks for putting them 'out there'.
shalom
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