Why Myth?
An introduction to my purpose here
Mythopoeia — myth-making. It is the title of my favourite poem and a term coined by its author, the father of fantasy and creator of The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien. The poem came as a response to Tolkien’s friend, colleague, and literary contemporary, C.S. Lewis when the latter claimed that “myths were lies and therefore worthless, even though ‘breathed through silver’”. Tolkien’s stance, as outlined in the poem, refutes this sardonic viewpoint; indeed, the entire corpus of his work stands directly in accordance with the idea that myth and story are of the utmost importance. Ultimately, Tolkien prevailed in convincing Lewis to believe his unassailable declarations on the beauty of man’s predilection and need for narrative and creative acts; and the truth of the human experience therein.
“Blessed are the men of Noah’s race that build
Their little arks, though frail and poorly filled,
And steer through winds contrary towards a wraith,
A rumour of a harbour guessed by faith.
Blessed are the legend-makers with their rhyme
Of things nor found within record time.
It is not they that have forgot the Night,”
-Mythopoeia, Tolkien
Read the full poem here
Why myths are important
Life is hard. Life is also unbelievably complex. You know this, and likely all too well. From its social structures to its systems and functions (natural, institutional, and metaphysical); from the body and mind of an individual to family, to communities, to nations, and beyond, at every level of analysis, at every stratum, life is complicated and life is difficult.
Life is also painful. Extraordinarily so. From the most privileged to the most destitute, all will suffer dearly. Physical pain, mental pain, spiritual pain. Each and every kind of pain is unavoidable. You will be wounded, you will be bludgeoned, you will crack, you will suffer loss, and you will be defeated. Fortunately, many experience love, moments of respite, camaraderie, creativity, happiness, and personal victory; but by no means are these fleeting triumphs of the soul guaranteed. Many will know joy; everyone will know suffering. If there is one rule, it is this: life is suffering. The ancients knew this. Our forefathers built entire religious systems and structures of faith based on this premise. Some have decided we no longer need such systems; ignorant of the fact that we’ve just opened that fateful door of doom all the wider, and only further suffering will flood through its gate. Despite what we may believe, man does not need an antidote to his suffering; we have tried to find it in hedonism and excess pleasure -cheap or luxurious- only to come up short, and perhaps wounded all the more. No, man instead needs a reason to buttress his suffering. A purpose. Something to make it all worth it. Some small treasure, safely guarded in the recesses of our souls, the chambers of our minds, placed upon the altar of our hearts. Our suffering is our cross, our crucifixion, our meaning. Stumble as we will, fall as we may, we must bear our cross to Golgotha - who knows what we will find there? Perhaps the place where suffering is conquered, death is defeated, and catastrophe resurrected to incandescent glory.
But how do we best navigate this inevitable road to Golgotha? How do we avoid being crushed under the weight of our cross? For the only alternative on this march to the hilltop is to stagnate. And to stagnate is to bring about the maximizing effects of the weight of our sufferings with none of the relief. Stagnation, for all intents and purposes, is therefore not an option. Each day comes and each day will go. Whether you live every day to the fullest or fight and gnaw at life in an attempt to be perpetually stagnant, the days march on. The quest continues. Calvary approaches. Like it or not, you’re on a journey. You’re on the Path. And when one is on a complex path of many routes, countless cavities, fissures, and ditches, bends and dead ends, hills, slopes and mountains, ravines, canyons, and sinkholes, what is needed most? A map. And not just any map. Not a map that simply draws a line from point A to point B, but rather a map that comes with a legend. One needs a map that says, “here stands a mountain, and this is how you climb it; here lies a canyon, this is how you cross it; here is erected a fortified wall, this is how you breach it. When stumbling on a rock, catch your balance as such. When lost on a windy road, seek this marker to find your way. When at a dead end, here is how to turn around and strike a new course.” Such a map does not say, “Walk this route to your journey’s end.” No one and no thing (in this realm) knows your journey’s end; least of all you. Instead, this map simply reveals one thing: here is how to walk. And though you may believe you walk alone, verily you walk with those legends of the Path who have struck out boldly and found their footing. Follow in their footsteps, and the further you march the more you will come to realize they are you and you are them.
You are not simply the reader of a map, but also its cartographer. You are not simply a follower but also a guide. The myths are the map; the legends, stories, and fables of the Path. They are the truth that lies in the depths of each and every one of our spirits. This truth will pull itself out of you, aware of it or not, with it or against it; it summons itself onto the stage using you as its actor. Myths are the projection of that knowledge which is tucked safely away in its chest, under lock and key. Lock and key and chest, of which you are all. We know these stories as well as we know the backs of our hands. Whether we are conscious of this fact or not. If it were not so, they would not exist. From the archaic and primitive man to us modern “progressives”, these same stories that exist, beat for beat, plot for plot, archetype for archetype, would not be continually reinvented with their roots stretching back to the dawning of our consciousness, in all societies, across all cultures, in all places, for all time. Immortal.
If you know of the myths of the past and the myths of the present, you are well-armed to strike out in the telling of your own tale to create the myth of the future. And as with all the myths that came before, your myth has its place in the compendium. A necessary chapter for future readers, critics, and authors alike.
It is for these reasons that I believe everyone’s lives would be enriched if more attention was paid to the stories that were told both long ago and in this age. They are our stories. And every story, from the most rudimentary children’s tale to the most complicated volume, is told for a reason.
Fundamentally, we are narrative creatures. We are programmed for it. We view our very lives as one continuous story, often conceptualizing important periods as chapters. We tell stories every day; perhaps an interesting encounter at the bakery in the morning, a troubling experience from our past, or simply telling a joke we once heard. We learn about history through chronicles, epics, and personal accounts. The very unravelling of humanity, as we chart our course through time and space, is not a science, but instead one interminable story, punctuated with characters, climaxes, and evolutions. It is enhanced and enlivened with the power of the human imagination, as we create legends and myths and whisper them in quiet rooms, or captivate an audience from a stage. Through this, we gain control of our past, as well as our present, and then our future. When we realize that these stories are not only ours, but that they are, in actuality, us, we become all the greater. All the more competent. All the wiser. So, why not listen and build upon the greatest stories man has been able to imagine? Why not incorporate them into your very being? Why not drink from that Pierian Spring of the Muses? And why not live as though you were taking part in the greatest story you could possibly tell? Yours. By doing so, you can lessen the complexity of life, navigate its difficulty, soothe its pain, find meaning in your sufferings and, above all, tell these stories to others, to help them on their Path. To walk with them, and they with you.
So, the purpose of this blog, such as I can glean from my fumblings with it, is to bring further light to the legend of this map. To help find my own way; perhaps help you find yours. Many before me have done a far better job at unravelling the truths, the reality, within myth and narrative, and at piercing the rich symbols within them; many more after will do better still. My goal is not to be the cartographer, but simply my own on that fateful path to Golgotha, the hill of victory.
Thanks for reading,
Sam