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Quest: (N) A long and arduous journey in search of something of importance. A seemingly impossible task or challenge. A mystery solved only through a journey into unknown territory.
What is your quest? What is it you seek?
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When I taught literature, I challenged my students to look at many novels we read together within the paradigm of ‘The Heroe’s Journey.’ We talked about the personal qualities which enable someone to set off from home to accomplish a seemingly impossible task.
And, of course, accepting the challenge and finding the will to leave the comforts of home behind, for the sake of the journey, counts as the first ‘seemingly impossible’ task for nearly every hero.
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Each challenge along the way finds the hero discovering more and more… about themselves. The hero returns home transformed, perhaps even enlightened.
Sometimes returning home may actually mean finding a new home, a better place to live, at the end of their journey.
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But one thing always true of quests is their mystery. There is rarely a map, and one must navigate from the heart.
Guides almost always appear when needed most, yet the hero still makes the choice to turn one way or another, to engage or to avoid encounters along the way.
There are struggles to survive, and battles with evil ones. There is never any guaranteed success.
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When one begins any journey, little of the road ahead can be seen. Maybe we can see the first bit of the path, perhaps there is a even a destination in mind.
But things rarely turn out to be what they seem, and the path leads us ever onwards into the unknown; sometimes into the unknowable.
Following a quest requires courage and determination, openness and heart.
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And heroes often understand, when the quest is finished, that their journey through the world was also a journey into the mystery of themselves. They find, within themselves, the true object of their quest.
What is your quest?
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Woodland Gnome 2016
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For the Daily Post’s
Weekly Photo Challenge: Quest
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A few of my favorite stories of quests and heroes:
The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda
The Return of Merlin by Deepak Chopra
The Alchemist by Paul Coelho
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
The Odyssey by Homer
Hatchet by Gary Paulson
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
The Celestine Prophecy series by James Redfield
The Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Epic of Gilgamesh traditional Sumerian story
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Yes – well said. Brilliant entry.
Thank you so much for that ❤
Thank you ❤
And my quest now on its closing path. The days now ticking for the journey back and certainly transformations all around. It begins when it has to, when the call is not the loudest but when heard from the heart, listened to, followed, found, mission accomplished. Life is never the same.
Such true words 😉 It will be so nice when you have returned home from this epic journey, my friend 😉 I hope all is well with your family, and know that you have brought healing and a positive turn to their story. ❤ ❤ ❤
The inner quest is a lifelong journey!
I love your waterscapes. 🙂
Same here- gazing at them brings such peace 😉 Did you get much rain from the system as it slid up the coast? Today was our first dry day, and the sun was lovely.
Sad to say, not a drop. We desperately need rain. We might get a passing shower tonight as a cold front comes through. Only in the 60s tomorrow and chance of frost Sat and Sun nights. 😦