The Fragrance of Devotion

According to legend, there was a girl named Ariadne that was the daughter of an evil king. The king was devastated by the death of his son, killed in Athens, so he attacked the city and forced them to pay tribute in the form of young men and women. These young men and women were sacrificed to a monster that was kept locked in a labyrinth. No one ever came out of the labyrinth alive. It was a cruel form of tribute and the young Ariadne was troubled by it. One year, a prince of Athens, Theseus, was determined to stop the bloodshed so he volunteered to go that he might battle the monster. He boarded the ship along with the others. When he arrived at the island, young Ariadne learned of Theseus’ intent and fell in love with him. Moved by her love, she devoted herself to find a way to help Theseus. She consulted the designer of the labyrinth to learn if there was a way of escape and found that the only way out was to return the same way one entered. So she secretly gave Theseus a knife to try and slay the monster and a ball of string to find his way out. Giving him her heart, she walked with him to the entrance where he promised to take her with him if he survives. Inside, Theseus proved to be the hero Ariadne fell in love with as he defeated the monster and found his way out of the labyrinth. As promised, Ariadne was swept away with the object of her devotion. It seemed like a happy ending. But as they stopped on an island, Theseus slipped away in the night, abandoning Ariadne and breaking her heart. How quickly the story of love becomes a tragedy. It is not just a story of unrequited love. More specifically, it is a story of devastating devotion.

Perhaps what is most sad about the story is that most of us can relate with it. We know what it feels like to go out on a limb through our devotion only to be left there, waiting for the limb to break. While the story has to do with devotion to a person, the same can be said about any kind of devotion. When one limb breaks, we turn wounded to yet someone – or something – else to which to give it.

What we devote ourselves to and what that devotion looks like impacts everything else about our lives, from the restfulness of our sleep (or sleeplessness) to the quality of our work, to the depth of our relationships.

This passage is about devotion. It shows us the nature of devotion, a devotion that produces death, and a death that produces devotion.

 

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