One of my favourite writers, Richard Rohr, made some interesting observations about Homers Odyssey, and you see a little of my discussion of the same themes in OHB comics 7 & 8, as well as Lithium, and … well, all my comics let’s face it. Rohr points out that in the Odyssey, Odysseus leaves Ithaca the first time, and struggles etc on his oceanic adventures …
… as he journeys around, and eventually after utterly breaking, he journeys back towards his own home island, Ithaca.
…
… but then Rohr points out there’s a second voyage; this time inland, as Odysseus, now changed as a man and having returned ‘home’, faces the prediction of his own death and adventures inland … with an oar. As in an actual wooden oar. Inland. This happens right at the end of the Odyssey. Rohr makes the point that his struggles, his adventures away from Ithaca have equipped him uniquely (represented by the oar), and he can now face the next phase even though the next phase is no longer about the struggle.
Inland, as Rohr points out, the oar is something of an irrelevance – it’s not about that anymore, although Odysseus still chooses to take it as identity-linked equipment. So the first struggle (the ocean-spanning adventure) is one that makes basic logical sense – fighting stuff to ‘win’ – whereas the second struggle holds the paradox – not fighting but still journeying towards completion without the need to win. Odysseus travels towards his doom freely in the final phase, because he is changed.
He still takes his familiar tools with him, even knowing that they cannot vanquish the ‘foe’ as happened in the first phase, because that’s no longer what it’s about. Death (or the loss of life), has lost its sting.
Anyway I’ve butchered Rohr’s discussion of the Odyssey, you’ll have to read it in Falling Upward, a book I thoroughly recommend, and which makes far more sense than I am right now.
I like that theme, though. And as you can see in the various comic snippets, I’ve explored it a lot. I wonder if anyone noticed it in the recent comics. Our adventures taking us out of darkness …
… changing us …
… then as we near completion of that state, as we understand something of what ‘home’ really is, and begin to live it, we are ready for another, paradoxical phase …
… ready for another type of adventure, because we are changed. But this next adventure is one we cannot win – because the next phase is no longer about winners and losers.
And in this last phase, we know the journey is important, but we also understand even bigger things. We carry the journey within us, but we also carry home within ourselves. We become free from shame, and free from struggle. And we face the ultimate stuff freely and easily, because we no longer need to fix it.
Ahhhh. All good. Anyway, whether you believe in some sort of God or not, and wherever you are on the political spectrum (hint: it’s always been a spectrum, there’s not just 2 options duh), and whether you think all people are equally worthy of love or not, paradox and singularities are amazing, eh ? Classic stuff.
WOW…..just WOW….nothing more…nothing less……Just WOW!
We are all a bit mad, it’s nice to have those clarifying moments when we look back and the madness starts to form a pattern, to make some sort of sense. It’s not intentional, really, if you’re anything like me. And if you resonate with any of the comics … you probably are 🙂
That’s why I love your work…..it’s about and exploration of life through the light and darkness of self. A journey beyond ego to an experience and understanding of unity and connection. That and boobies, lots of hot sex and interesting close relationships that leave restrictive societal taboos in the wake of expansion.
Keep shining, bright light! You touch and impact more people that you know. A reverberation that echoes through every fragment of space, time and dimension!
Boldly glow!
Let us all be reverberations that echo through every fragment of space, time and dimension 👌
I be working my side of multiverse street…. best game in town!
May the boobies be with us all!
Your work (art, plot line & narrative) is amazing. Really wonderful being able to come across a new comic from you. Always great!
Thanks Jack, I like them too 🙂
Thank you for being such a delightful catalyst for change in such a delightful way.
No problem, I mean I really did it for boobies and added some moralising to help me feel less bad about doing sex comics, but hey it worked out in the end hehe!
“I’m turning us in to a shipwreck in order to end the storm”. I feel that in my bones.
Yeah, it’s interesting looking back through some of my comics, I’ve used far too many swear words in places. Your quote removes them and it’s more effective for it, something I need to learn perhaps 🙂
Brilliant, as always.
Merci
Thank you for pointing all of this out, I fear that the boobies may have distracted some of us! That said your work has always been about something a lot deeper, not having tried the Odyssey however I didn’t spot it so it’s great to have this revelation. I think some re-reading is in order. In the meantime check out Extraordinary on D+ it’s not very Disney and is both funny and surreal. Keep on truckin’ MJ x
Ah yes the distractions, I confess when I’ve read through my own comics I haven’t really noticed the symbolism either hehe. It just sort of happens and it’s only when I review the lot I go “Oh, that’s what was happening … interesting …”
I’ll check out Extraordinary 🙂
There is so much in Sindy’s work that is insightful, meaningful and illuminating for all of us in the human condition. In a way it’s unfortunate that the works have so much sexiness about them, because so many people who could benefit from these wonderful adventures and the enlightment which pervades them will never see them because they would never be able to get past that aspect of them. Still, it’s the sexiness that is the initial hook and attraction which enhances them and their development. Wondeful excerpts from the past works, which I re-read occasionally for inspiration.
Thanks Mark, yes I wonder if it’d be quite as popular if you removed the sexiness … probably not. It’d come across a bit pointless and moralistic I think, the rudeness sort of balances it out as the delivery system. On the plus side, people who are trapped in real dark places are never going to read how-to or self-help kinda content, and they can get stuck in really bad places indeed, so maybe these comics offer a bit of hope or a bit of light in those places. That’s my hope at least 🙂
Plus boobies.
That poor dude Webster hasn’t commented yet, so I thought I’d get the ball rolling; HURRY up and FINISH the next COMIC you SLACKER!! I was never proud of you you’re such a DISAPPOINTMENT etc etc internalised curses of a parent figure, transmitted. Don’t worry Webster, we get it.
There is, after all, some truth in your words; I have indeed been slow at releasing comics recently – but there are also a lot of lies – that tends to be the pattern of emotional abuse from our parents (or tormentors of all sorts); the little piece of truth wrapped in a whole cake of shit. And we swallow it and it affects what believe about ourselves, and we can get caught in loops where we pass it on to the next people, or try to. But we can all get free of that stuff, so that’s good news. You’re still welcome here old bean ❤️ for reals.
Your early works were a lot about boobies, sex and comedy, all put into a well written story. Over time, you and we your readers have grown, as the stories have grown more detailed but not to complicated (maybe apart from the end of ‘One Human, Being’). It’s a wonder to me how you can write two or three different stories, going in different directions, that only have one thing in common (yes it’s those wonderful boobies). My text only stories on Literotica are usually just one at a time and done quite slowly and are getting better, so I know the pleasure of the ride as well as the memory of it after it’s ended and the anticipation of starting a new journey. Thank you for all your works and long may you continue to produce them.
Thanks David, yeah it is fun to make the stories, eh? Many of my comics I don’t read until 3 or 4 years later, so yeah it’s mostly for the pleasure of making them that it happens. And as you’ve discovered, we change and the writing/creating of them helps us explore stuff that is very … I don’t know … developing, I suppose.
BOOBIES!!!! Ok, that said. Yes, the stories are rather deep when given the opportunity to sink in. I find the progression of the relationships to be MY main draw. But here I wanted to note a relationship of Odesseus carrying around an oar and our present day society since we can’t each go on a Odessey. But, maybe we do! Our oars equates to our values of MONEY where our success is measured by how much we have. So it seems in our first 50 years of life …. but then something changes …. We get old … ( we are not weak ) but we find there is no need to fight and struggle with how much money we have. We take time to recall that all that we have struggled for is not as important as to teach our grandchildren to take time to smell the roses. Sure, lessons for success are important but the teaching of these lessons become different, with a “value”, ” Family ” added to the equation of success. Or just wishful thinking on my part.