Ithaca by Constantine P. Cavafy

C. P. Cavafy

Ithaca

When you start on your journey to Ithaca,
then pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
Do not fear the Lestrygonians
and the Cyclopes and the angry Poseidon.
You will never meet such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your body and your spirit.
You will never meet the Lestrygonians,
the Cyclopes and the fierce Poseidon,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not raise them up before you.

Then pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many,
that you will enter ports seen for the first time
with such pleasure, with such joy!
Stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and corals, amber and ebony,
and pleasurable perfumes of all kinds,
buy as many pleasurable perfumes as you can;
visit hosts of Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from those who have knowledge.

Always keep Ithaca fixed in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for long years;
and even to anchor at the isle when you are old,
rich with all that you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have taken the road.
But she has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not defrauded you.
With the great wisdom you have gained, with so much experience,
you must surely have understood by then what Ithacas mean.

~~ Constantine Cavafy

It is always about the journey; a destination is just a new launching point. ~ Ginger Hamilton

Travelling

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You know how it is. Sometimes we plan a trip to one place, but something takes us to another.
           ~~Rumi

Five of my short stories are now available on Amazon Kindle. "Good Neighbors" is a dark tale about family issues and how being neighborly sometimes means keeping your nose in your own yard. Available <click here>. ~~GH

[Tomorrow: ]

Traveling Alone/Together

We are on a new path. For years, we traveled together shoulder to shoulder, working together for common goals. Now we find ourselves with diverse interests, dichotomous goals. The trick is to weave our lives together using separate threads, avoid tangles and knots, and to end up with a cohesive product pleasing to each of us and both of us, that still satisfies our individual goals.

“You suffer because you cling to the world.” I suffer for you, because you cling to the world. But I respect your choice. “Give up desiring as much as you can.” Only up to the point to which you are able. That is the premise of Buddhism. It is the Middle Way. “Don’t desire to give up more desire than you can, and if you find that a problem, don’t desire to be successful in giving up more desire than you can.”