SEP
Philosophy
Life is as wrought with
difficulties as it ever was. Sadly, this can often bring out the worst in
people. Fear and hatred run rampant and dominate people’s minds and lives and
there hardly seems to be a solution. World peace has been talked about
endlessly with the concept seeming ever less likely to be realized. It’s enough
to really get someone down in the dumps.
What can be done? Here’s my own
personal attempt to try to reconcile my own consciousness with the disparity
existent in the current, twenty-first century world, which isn’t as different
from other centuries as one might think.
There are three qualities I believe
can assist in establishing perseverance in an individual, which would then
allow them to gain success for his/herself sooner or later. For my own purposes
I decided to choose a figurehead for each of these qualities.
Stamina
To carry on, even when it is
difficult.
Applejack’s Stalwart Spirit
Applejack is an
upbeat and industrious pony in the fictional world of Equestria. She works on
the massive apple orchard called Sweet Apple Acres. Never letting her work
ethic falter, she brings prosperity to her family through her vigorous stamina. Applejack does even more good
when she aligns herself with fellow pony Twilight Sparkle and their mutual friends
to form The Elements of Harmony and protect their world from evil and
destruction.
One feature of
Applejack’s background is never explained- her parents are nowhere to be seen.
Are they deceased, or have they gone away for some reason? It is never
explained. What’s a little pony to do in such a situation? Sit around and hope
someone else comes along to magically fix everything and make it all better? No
way! The only option for Applejack is to carry on. Her grandmother is old, her
younger sister is too small, and her older brother isn’t as intelligent as she
is; therefore, none of them are as capable as her to run the farm and ensure
everything works out well. Applejack dutifully takes up this role to
commendable success. She even constantly pushes herself to her limits and
beyond, and often finds difficulty accepting help from others. With her
indomitable spirit Applejack carries on to help her family, her friends, and
her world.
Endurance
To stay true to one’s Self
The Trial of Thor
Thor is the
Thunder God of Norse mythology. Wielding a mighty hammer and riding a chariot
across the sky, he was regarded as the strongest of the Norse Gods. His enemies
were the Giants, who lived in a different region than the Gods. Thor decided he
should travel into the land of the Giants, into the hall of their king, and
undergo tests to prove his strength to himself and to his mortal enemies. He
went through a series of tests- and failed each of them! In one of these tests,
the Giant King told Thor to try and lift his cat. The cat was remarkably large,
but Thor believed he could do it. He tried his best, but the Thunder God could
not lift the cat. The Giants laughed, and Thor left the hall keeping his head
high despite feeling dreadfully embarrassed.
As he was leaving the land of the
Giants, he was met on the road by the Giant King. The king confessed to Thor
that he was a sorcerer skilled in altering the appearance of things in his
land. He told Thor that the cat was actually the Midgard Serpent, a snake whose
body could wrap around the entire Earth. The king further explained that when
Thor seemed to fail every test, he was actually succeeding better than anyone
ever had before. The illusion caused by the King’s spell made it appear like
Thor did poorly. The Giants secretly feared him, and thus the king had to use
deception to make Thor look weak. Although Thor was enraged by the deception,
the king vanished and so the Thunder God returned home.
This ancient
story from the Viking Age tells readers about how the world can sometimes make
us feel worth less than we really are. Thor was deceived by the Giant King and
felt embarrassed. He failed tests he should have easily passed. But his endurance did not waver, and he
continued to bravely undertake the remaining tests of the Giants. Perhaps Thor
left this experience a bit humbler, but not less mighty. The endurance of the Thunder God was an
inspiration to the Vikings, who lived very difficult lives, and is still an
inspiration to many people today.
Patience
To believe in good things
yet to come
Prince Rama’s Devotion
Prince Rama of
Ayodhya had everything a person could want: he was good-looking, had a
beautiful wife, was the heir to a wealthy and prosperous kingdom, and had a
loving family. But just when he was about to ascend to the throne, his father’s
second wife convinced the king of Ayodhya to banish the young prince from the
realm for many years. Rama obeyed the sentence and went into exile in a forest.
He was accompanied by his loving wife Sita and his brother. Rama made the best
of his exile as he and his brother were skilled warriors and could provide for
themselves and Sita well. However, they were deceived by the Demon King Ravana
and Sita was abducted by the evil tyrant. Rama could deal with his cruel
banishment, but being robbed of his beautiful wife, who meant the world to him,
Rama’s patience would meet its most
severe trial. Nevertheless, patience
is what the young prince exhibited. He steadfastly worked toward finding Sita.
He made friends with the monkey warrior Hanuman and built up an army. Through
perseverance and valor Rama won the freedom of his dear wife and defeated the
Demon King. After his exile was over he returned to his kingdom with his wife
and had a very successful reign. Many throughout the world believe Rama to be an
incarnation of the Divine, an Avatar of the Hindu God Vishnu.
Rama believed in
working toward long-term goals, which can often be easy to lose sight of,
especially during times of adversity. The difficulties Prince Rama underwent
might have broken many men in his situation, but with exceptional patience and devotion to what mattered
most to him- his wife, his brother, and his people- Rama set an example that
shines through the ages.
The arcane mantra “Om” is invoked by many cultures
throughout the world to induce meditation and bring about inner peace within an
individual. People from ages past to present have needed this inner peace to
clear their minds, gather their thoughts, and plan how to proceed in their
lives. Without this invaluable patience,
Prince Rama would never have succeeded and a dark age might have come to his
kingdom instead of a time of prosperity.
SEP
Stamina, Endurance,
and Patience are as important as they ever were for all kinds of people. No
matter who you are or where you come from. No matter how blessed or
disadvantaged you are. No matter what you do for recreation, or as a
profession, or for spiritual fulfillment. The three qualities mentioned in this
article can help you make life better for yourself and, after achieving that,
make the world better. Even if it is only in a small way, a small improvement
is better than none. I like to summarize this idea in the abbreviation SEP. I
use the images and Rune symbols in the picture to help enhance the message for
myself. Maybe the use of these or other symbols will be helpful to you as well.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the article.
Are there any characters/figureheads/individuals that you
think are good examples of the three qualities listed above?
If so, feel free to share them in the comments.
If you liked this article and are interested in fantasy
fiction stories, be sure to check out my book “The Rabbit-Man” available here:
Michael Babbish
2016
