The Gilgamesh Myth and the Search for Meaning & Immortality
Author: Christopher Chayban
The search for immortality and finding of meaning the story of Gilgamesh strikes home with me. “Gilgamesh encourages hope in that, even though one may not be able to live forever, the choices one makes in life resonate in the lives of others. These others may be friends, family, acquaintances, or may be strangers living long after one’s death who continue to be touched by the eternal story of the heroe’s refusal to accept a life without meaning. Gilgamesh’s struggle against apparent meaninglessness defines him – just as it defines anyone who has ever lived – and his quest continues to inspire those who recognize how eternal and intrinsically human that struggle is. ” (ancient.eu).
I found it meaningful just researching Gilgamesh and seeing what my Mediterranean ancestors were up to. I too refuse to accept life without meaning but the weight against meaninglessness at times appears too much to bear. I think I don’t quite understand what the journey really means yet because of instant gratification spirit of our time. What’s my myth? The spilt I think is between living your myth naturally and watching yourself live the myth. There is almost a video game like consciousness that wants to watch and act at the same time. As if the Ego is the observer and operating the joystick but not actually participating in real life. It’s a simulation that isn’t really engaged. Did Gilgamesh know he was living his myth? How is it that we can become conscious of our myth and live it out naturally with some degree of unconsciousness without constantly trying to direct it with the Ego joystick? I suppose that that’s what Edinger and Neumann were aware of with the concept of relating to the Myth, the “Self” in the Ego-Self axis. But still begs some unanswered questions for me. Is meaning found only in retrospect when you look back in the rearview mirror of life? Do we not have to complete the story before knowing what our myth is? How can we avoid the ok this is my myth, NEXT! Syndrome? If you know your myth, will the meaning of knowing it, sustain you through the future and beyond? I reserve hope that it will.
Resources:
Gilgamesh. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2018, from https://www.ancient.eu/
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