This essay is concerned with the
myths that are leading us into an uncertain future, how they can be understood, how they
can be worked with, and how they can be transformed. Some people think a myth is no more
than a quaint relic from an antiquated culture, a fanciful story created to explain what
is not known. More exactly, myth is the way people combine what is known and what is not
known into the maps that guide them through their lives. We are continually making choices
within largely uncharted waters. We can never be certain about where these choices will
lead, yet we must choose. Our myths serve as the internal maps that invisibly guide us
from one choice to the next. While a myth -- to be viable for the contemporary mind --
must be aligned with our capacity for rational thought, myth-making is as much with us
today as it was thousands of years ago. Myth is, in fact, grounded in the quintessential
human ability to address the large questions of existence using symbolism, metaphor, and
narrative. And no other species has a guidance system that touches ours for promoting
flexibility and creativity in responding to the environment. |
