Calypso.
Being “between Scylla and Charybdis”—the original rock and a hard place—has come to mean being stuck between two equally hazardous alternatives… This is not the time to be imaginative or clever…. This is the time to stay on task, goal in mind, with pride and ego stowed away. Getting through counts as a win.
~ Michael Goldberg*
lent, week 7
After steering a nerve-wracking, costly passage between Scylla and Charybdis (and a doomed run-in with the golden cattle of Helios), Zeus sends a punishing tsunami that wrecks his ship, drowns his men, and leaves Odysseus barely alive, alone and clinging to a scrap of the mast for nine days in the open sea until he washes up on the island of Ogygia. Our hero is utterly spent and resource-less; he needs an immense amount of TLC… and finds everything his heart longs for here. Almost.
Ogygia is home to the goddess Calypso, and she embodies the energy of the Enneagram Two—nurture and sacrificial care ooze out of her and flow into our needy, wounded traveler. Sometimes the blows of life leave us equally spent, and we feel like we have nothing left to give. It’s time for retreat and refreshment at a very deep level, body and soul. As we come back to life, it’s also time to reconnect with our truest self, our deepest convictions, and our most authentic purpose. Everything lies in the balance now.
Calypso is enamored of Odysseus and wants him to stay with her forever in her tropical paradise where every possible desire is lavishly provided. But the more she seeks to possess his affections, the more he realizes that, once healed, he is losing himself and betraying his true love Penelope. Co-dependency is the low side of the Two energy, which generously serves the other for the purpose of meeting one’s own needs. What appears like love rapidly becomes slavery, and Odysseus eventually escapes.
Lent is a season to soberly assess where we are on our journey, where we have lost our way, and where we need to reclaim our real identity and calling. Both Circe and Calypso were sorceresses who sought to charm Odysseus and keep him for themselves, but their archetypal roles were opposite: Circe sent him to Hades and taught him how to die, while Calypso reawakened his heart and taught him how to live. Both were essential. Which gift does your journey require right now?
growing your soul
Where is your soul burned out and need refreshment? Alternately, where are you indulging your senses and betraying your purpose?
serving our world
Your highest calling compels you to leave Ogygia and set your face toward Home. Who needs the true gifts of your calling most right now?
takeaway
Refresh…and Refocus.
*Michael Goldberg, Travels With Odysseus. I’m taking much of my inspiration in this series from his book. I recommend it!