Striving for Meaningful Lives

"Striving for Meaningful Lives" is the conclusion of a fictional poetic trilogy in the tercet stanzas: "Musing on Homeric Epics: A Soul-Searching Tale {3}". It unfolds imaginary dialogues between Homer-Outis, the bard of The Odyssey, and Odysseus, the protagonist of The Odyssey, in a soul-searching dream of the epic poet. Following Helen’s revelations on the human causes of the Trojan War at her death, Odysseus and Penelope take on an intrepid pilgrimage to the ruins of Troy. On the way, they meet Idomeneus in Crete, Diomedes at sea, Chryseis in Thebe, Tecmessa and Telamon in Troy. Overcoming many formidable adversities, Odysseus and Penelope eventually fulfill Helen’s last wish to be united with Paris in Troy, even as ashes. But they are captured by the new Trojan king, Helenus. In magnanimous foresight, Helenus sets free his worst foe, Odysseus,to serve Aethon, a holy sage, at the shrine in Mt. Ida. Odysseus pursues a new life as a humble hermit with sincere repentance for his past life. Penelope becomes a trusty friend to Queen Andromache in Helenus’ new kingdom. Eventually, Odysseus finds a lad, who is identified as the son of Helen by Paris, called Ganymede. He succeeds in Helenus’ kingdom. After Aethon’s death, Penelope succeeds him as the new spiritual leader in Mount Ida. Odysseus leads an international school in Mount Ida, dedicated to training young future leaders of peoples for enlightenment, peace, and the prosperity of humanity. Odysseus relates to Homer-Outis what he and Penelope learned from wise Aethon about the wisdom and theology of ancient Egypt. They realize that personified deities are not real entities but merely wishful illusions invented by humans in their minds. Eventually, Homer-Outis becomes enlightened; he confesses to Odysseus that he has been misled in proud vanity to follow guileful minstrels who abused hoax ‘muses’ as their poetic conceits to justify their travesties of absurd divine affairs. He vows to sing of the plain truth from his pure conscience without the poetic conceit of hoax ‘muses.’ Odysseus and Homer-Outis become mysteriously transfigured into one enlightened being. At this moment, the earnest and conscientious bard Homer-Outis awakens from his spiritual dream, inspired anew to write a new epic: Inner Awakening to One's Sacred Conscience.