Forgiveness - Part 4: Myopia, Humility, and Relationships

Tunnel Vision vs. Humility

            Your life is epic.

Homer’s The Odyssey tells the ten-year journey of a man trying to find his way home to his kingdom, his wife, and his son.  Like all epic tales, upon the journey Odysseus confronts many “monsters of depravity.”  Every monster represents a trait within Odysseus he must confront and overcome, traits like pride, greed, and lust.

On one occasion Odysseus confronts the Cyclops, Polyphemus.  The monstrously large Polyphemus doesn’t respect the gods.  In other words, he has no humility, and he has no concern for things of the heart or spirit.  He represents the animal nature of humanity.  He cannibalizes several of Odysseus’ men to placate his unchecked appetites.  The Cyclops’ every action is concerned with only one person: himself.  He has one eye, meaning he has no depth perception (He is shallow!).  He focuses solely on the surface of things: filling his belly, getting what he wants, drinking to the point of drunkenness.  He is full of pride.

            Polyphemus suffers from myopia, a medical condition resulting especially in defective vision of distant objects, or a lack of foresight, a narrow view of something.   He has no vision for distance, for the future.  And wisdom is vision!  He does not see the negative consequences of his self-centered actions.  He does not learn from his past and plan for his future.  He practices instant-gratification, and ends up suffering humiliation at the hands of the seemingly insignificant Odysseus.

Odysseus and his men escape when they use a sharpened pole to stab the Cyclops in the eye after the “monster of depravity” falls asleep, drunk from wine Odysseus serves him.  Polyphemus’ spiritual and intellectual blindness, from undisciplined habits and unrestrained instant-gratification, leads to his physical blindness at the hands of Odysseus.

In the narrative Polyphemus mirrors Odysseus, who himself suffers from myopia.  As he and his men escape on their ships, Odysseus taunts the Cyclops after having blinded him, and in the taunting nearly causes the death of himself and his crew as Polyphemus hurls a mountaintop in the direction of the ships.  Like the Cyclops, Odysseus also believes he does not need the gods, and he can do everything on his own.  He is blind to “the seventy-seven horrors” within ( See: Forgiveness - Part 1).  He is filled with pride, lacking any humility whatsoever.

The encounter with the Cyclops is Odysseus’ personal encounter with his myopic view, his inability to see the consequences of his arrogance and self-centeredness.  It takes him several more episodes to find humility.  From this episode we learn the importance of discipline, humility, and the grave consequences of the choices we make every moment.

The Three Most Important People in Your Life

            Think of the three most important people in your life.  Write them down right here, right now. If you have several siblings or kids, sorry, you will have to choose.  Do this before reading the next paragraph.  Go!

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Now, are you on that list?  If not, add your name.  You must be on that list!  Just make sure you’re not the only one on that list!

Forgive yourself.  Love yourself.  Once you forgive and love yourself, only then can you love and forgive others.

Forgiveness is the antidote for resentment, resistance and revenge.  Forgiveness brings protection.  Mercy is new every morning![i]  When forgiveness goes before me in all my actions and relationships, I am protected from my self-destruction.  I can truly live, which is to say, I can truly love . . . myself and others.

Are you guilt-driven or grace-driven?  It’s time to make The Shift.  Live a grace-full life.  Open your eyes, live your calling, and walk in your Greatness.  Begin the revolution within . . . The Greatness Revolution!

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[i] Lamentations 3:22-23