It Never Ends, Of Course

I recently attended a talk by Michael Meade, mythologist, author, and storyteller. I keep hearing his words in my head and I want to share them with you, dear reader. At the core of his talk is his willingness to look at the world, see the darkness as well as the light, and weave together stories that join the two.

The talk on that rainy Northwest night was called “Why the World Doesn’t End”. He spoke of us living in a time when “the End” seems near. That everything these days has apocalyptic overtones. Apocalyptic does not mean destruction, it actually means, “a lifting of the veil”. This is a more poetic and imaginal way to envision things. We are beginning to see what has been hidden: The raping of the earth, the behavior of priests in the Catholic Church, of executives at Enron, of government officials after Katrina and in the war in Iraq – the ugly list goes on.

Michael Meade tells us that what matters most in times like these is to remember that the world is “more than a simple literal place, the world has an eternal drama, a story told from beginning to end, and end to beginning, again and again.” What matters is that we engage our imagination in ways that allow the fire of our own unique nature. This can bring about a badly needed reconnection with Nature and involve us in the meaningful work of living an authentic life.

- Storm Maxwell

To learn more about Michael Meade and his work www.mosaicvoices.org