Ithaca

My brother Ronn, a Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt instructor, shared with me a poem today-- which is strange cuz neither of us are really poetry guys.  But it was pretty good, deep and thought provoking.  Check 'em out:

Ithaca

by Konstantinos Kavafis (1911)

As you set out for Ithaca
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - don't be afraid of them:
you' ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon - you won't encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbours you're seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind -
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaca always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you're destined for.
But don't hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you're old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you've gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaca to make you rich.

Ithaca gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you'll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

There's a chiropractic interpretation in there for me (among many others).

When under chiropractic care, what is the Ithaca?

Pain relief?

An optimal spine?

Total, perfect health?

Unlike the traveller who finally arrives, who stands on Ithaca's soil and knows that he has made it with a complete certainty, can the chiropractic patient ever really know when he or she has reached the promised land?

And who defines the chiropractic Ithaca?  Does it come from the promises of the doctor or the expectations of the patient?

Does it even matter?

Chiropractic does not represent the vehicle to the destination, but is the journey itself manifested-- with all of the benefits received along the way, riches to the mind, body and soul.

Comments

[Max]

I like poem.

[Ronn]

Dr. Shiraki,

I like your chiropractic interpretation of this poem. In Jiu-Jitsu too, it is not the final tap (the ultimate goal) that should bring pleasure but the process--the experience of movement, breath, and being in flow--as with all goals in life. Anyway, I found the version I like. Tell me what you think.

K-den,
Ronn

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon - do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your heart does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy,
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine Cavafy
Translated by Rae Dalven

[Nicole (Dr. Nick)]

ithaca...is also a town in upstate new york near a chiropractic college. ;)