The Odyssey

Eumaios – the Swineherd

"Tell me now about your trials and troubles.
And tell me truly first, for I should know,
Who are you, where do you hail from, and where is your home
and family? What kind of ship was yours,
and what course brought you here? Who are your sailors?

I don’t suppose you walked here on the sea."

The Odyssey of Homer

Book XIV

Verses, 222 - 227

Translated by Robert Fitzgerald

~

This ancient epic is attractive to me because it is about coming home. Born a noble, Odysseus makes his way home after a long sojourn. His most humble servant, the swineherd, interrogates him just as my innermost Self, would demand answers of me. It is not as though these answers are not known by the Heart of Compassion, the faithful servant, but they were not known by me… as though my memory was blocked by amnesia. I did know my name and address but, in a more profound way, I believe I had forgotten the nature of the noble mind I was born with. 

   Meditation is said to be akin to returning home. In meditation I am asked to relate my trials and troubles. To know exactly where I came from… my home and family… the constellation of neurosis… the ship I arrived on. What course did I take… what wanderings… what shoals did I navigate that got me where I am now? Most importantly, gratitude for the crew that helped me get where I am today… who were those anonymous angels and protective spirits, and simple kind souls with a helping hand? Then, even with a sense of humor, I remind myself that I didn’t just walk here on the sea. It is a beautiful place of sincere thankfulness in which I abide a few minutes of the day. In a more important sense, I am the swineherd and the noble Lord. I am the Heart of Compassion and the most humble of servants. I have arrived on the island of Ithaca, my home, at last.

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