Here’s a riddle for you, The Aegis Kōan, Part 1, The Question:
Why would Zeus, Lord of Heaven, Wielder Of Lightning, Storm King - Why would Zeus, Captain of The Gods, Commander of The Host of Olympus, Why would Zeus, Undefeated, Victorious, Conqueror,
Why would Zeus… need a shield?
I suggest to you that the reason Zeus needs a shield, and not just any shield, but the mighty Aegis, the greatest shield of all shields, is not to defend himself against gods or men, or any external threats, in the realms of gods or men, but from himself - to Defend Everyone (and Himself) from Himself.
🧙🏼♂️🪄🦋
Phew! What a trip! Ahhhh, I’m glad we’re back.
Now, where were we? Yes. Ah yes, defending everyone, including myself, against myself - that is, self-defense. Good. An important lesson. In summary, the fear of the self is the beginning of wisdom. A healthy amount of extreme paranoia, hopefully not including occasional nightmares and hallucinations, about your own destructive potential, towards yourself and others and everyone and everything you hold dear, is absolutely essential to living a balanced life, so eat a little humble pie with your ceareal every morning as part of your Breakfast of Champions. Or, if that works better for you, you can mutter under your breath like a crazy person as you walk down the streets lined in celebration with banners, hosts and heralds giving you Nicholaus, Nike-Laus, praising your victories… This, mutter This, under your breath, like a crazy person, as an anti-dote to Inspiration, as an antidote to your own Ego, as an antidote to The Illusion, the Samsara of this world… mutter This, mutter This, over and over again, chant, as they did behind Caesar:
Speak these words… Speak these words to yourself… Commit them to memory and don’t forget them. They will summon The Aegis to you, and give you the strength to bear it, to bear anything, wherever you are. Even you, cynical New Yorkers, wish that you could be so grounded, so balanced, and so capable of equanimity, so able to lightly bear a heroic burden… so Atlassian. Yes, my friends, speak these words…
And walk humbly before gods and men, and the goddess of wisdom, Sophia herself, with honor you with ambrosia and the laurel. I close with the Spell of the Aegis, the arcane magic of self defense as translated into English, when spoken by Master Kipling, not long ago…