BY MARA PALAGHICIUC EEB4, S5 FRA
THE MYTH OF KING MIDAS
“My heart…My dearest heart…
What about it?
It longs for so many things, yet so few of them can utterly satisfy it…
So, what are you waiting for?
Are you going to let this chance slip through your fingers, and disappear?
I…I… I won’t.”
What a fool I was, back then! … Oh, gold, gold, and riches! I’ve had enough of them, believe me! What a draining target for some, but a safe livelihood for others… To prove my words, I’ll tell you a story… Come on in, to a memory from a dream…
INTO THE GOLDEN WORLD OF MIDAS
I remember it all too clearly…Long ago, on a sunny day, in my beautifully scented garden full of roses, I found a satyr, follower of Dionysus… His name was… Silenus…
As he needed care, I took him in for 10 days and 10 nights. When it was time for him to leave, I took him back to Dionysus. The god offered me a wish. I wished that everything I touched should turn to gold…
…
Go on… Tell them! What’s wrong? Are you scared of the past?
THE GOLDEN WORLD OF OUR KING
Well, I tried avoiding this particular topic. You can’t keep ignoring the past, as long as it lingers somewhere inside of you…
Moving on, as I said earlier, I…I wished that everything I touched should turn to gold, and my wish was granted…
At first, I was exhilarated! I went on and on testing, and touching everything I could, bringing into life a new era for the palace! I was sowing riches and gold, throughout the land… Until…
Until…
Until I found out that everything turned into gold…Everything… My food, my water, my bed, my clothes… I’m feeling kind of dizzy… My daughter, my servants… I.. I can’t breathe… my walls, my flowers, my garden… You’re hurting us, stop it… My rugs, my floor, my table, my palace, … I can’t take it anymore.. stop, please…. Mmm-my life… Mm-my life… MY LIFE!!! AAAHHHHHHHHHH…
W-what happened?
I got carried away, again…
Oh, how bitter was the sound of that bellowing! A-and what an excruciating, invisible pain, that of the rottenness of my heart…
I could no longer bear it, so I begged and begged for forgiveness. My cries could be heard all around the lifeless palace… down the corridors, up the garden… Now I remember. I was lucky.
Why?
Dionysus heard my cry and…told me all I had to do was wash my hands in the river Pactolus, and it would all go away… the pain, misery, and magic, all gone once the golden touch disappeared.
So… what did you do?
I did as he said, but why wasn’t I relieved, when the burden was gone? …
…Because you came back to your sickening life from before “the golden touch”…
You ran after an illusion, and became one with it…
But once it faded away, all you were left with were some deeper scars into your shattered happiness…
So, tell me, was it all worth it?…
AND EVERYTHING IS WASHED AWAY…
Thank you, Midas, for your intervention… I’ll take it on from here.
Dear readers, as you have witnessed, wishing for the impossible is a tiresome race, lengthy in all regards, and unpredictable, as one may not even win it. It can have much darker effects on our welfare; blacken and poison our soul, and turn us into unquenched beings, always desiring more… In order to restore balance to our alienated heart, we must dig deeper within ourselves, plant the seed of hope, and let it grow inside of us until, someday, we’ll be able to admire the sunshine from the heights of our wondrous tree, always being careful what we wish for…
How about we ask him, one last time?
Let’s do it… I think he can handle it…
-Tell me, was it all worth it?
…
In the next article, you’ll be able to mirror your existence, in the imperturbable waters of destiny, breaking through the never-ending echoes of a burdened soul, while feeding knowledgeable twigs to your inner fire! Can you guess the next debunked myth? Until next time!
Source for the featured image: https://www.etsy.com/listing/235690014/may-all-your-days-be-gold-surreal-unique
