In Homer's "The Odyssey," Odysseus and his men sailed home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. They encountered a series of adventures, challenges, and calamities that contain timeless lessons, particularly on human nature. One stands out in particular.
Odysseus' ship must sail past the infamous island of the Sirens. The Sirens were part bird, part human, winged monster women who sang irresistibly beautiful songs that would lure sailors on passing ships through the fog toward the island, where they would inevitably die, crashing their ships into the rocks.
No man could resist their call -- their Siren Song. Anyone who heard the voice of a Siren was overcome with desire, losing touch with any rational thought besides the compulsion to find the source of the angelic music. Insatiable desire lead to inevitable ruin.
Knowing this, Odysseus took two steps to preserve himself and his men. He wanted to hear the song of the Sirens but also knew that once he did, he would steer his ship towards the island and kill his entire crew. So the first thing he did was instruct his crew to tie him to the mast as tightly as possible, refusing to unbind him no matter what he said or how much he pleaded. The more he begged, the more rope they were to add and the tighter they should tie him to the mast.
Then he instructed every crew member to fill their ears with wax so they wouldn't hear the Siren's song and could continue rowing and steering the ship safely past the island and beyond the reach of the Sirens.
The plan worked. As the ship cut through the foggy waters surrounding the island, Odysseus heard the Sirens and became enraged with uncontrollable desire. He begged, pleaded, and cursed his crew to unleash him and allow him to seek out the Sirens so he could fully experience their majesty. The sailors continued to row, abiding by Odysseus' instructions, unable to hear the Sirens or their commander's pleas.
Once they had cleared the island and the reach of the Siren's beautiful but deadly voices, they untied Odysseus, removed the wax from their ears, and continued their journey home to Ithaca.
This is a lesson in human nature. Thanks to the wise counsel of the goddess Circe, Odysseus understood that despite his virtue and his crew's loyalty, they were incapable of resisting the Sirens. The only way to survive that portion of the journey was to prevent themselves from hearing the Sirens or acting on the desires triggered by their song. Willpower could not save them. Honor could not preserve them. Once the song reached their ears, the impulse was impossible to resist. To hear their voices was to give in to them and die.
How many Siren Songs exist today? Maybe not with the threat of death, but with the danger of decline, demise, or disappointment?
How often do we say something like, "Oh, I would never," but then we do?
The ropes binding Odysseus to the mast did not restrict him. They saved him. The wax in the crew's ears did not limit them. It freed them to stay focused on their purpose and mission.
Over 3,000 years ago, Homer gifted us with this compelling story, an epic adventure, and a collection of timeless wisdom on human nature, discipline, and the consequences of drifting too far from virtue.
Mythology or not, we sail the same seas as Odysseus.
Answer the call. Do the work.
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