Lately I’ve been reading Ovid’s Metamorphoses. If you’re anything like me, the title and its author sound somewhat familiar, but that’s about it. Here’s the short version. Ovid was a famous writer, who’d been exiled by the Roman emperor around 8 AD, the precise reasons for which still remain somewhat of a mystery. While in exile, he wrote an epic poem, trying his best to include the entirety of Roman-Greek mythology – not an easy feat as you’ll soon find out.
Before I continue, let me just clarify: poems don’t always have to rhyme. This one doesn’t. So why call it a poem? Simply because it follows a certain, predetermined amount of short or long syllables and it carries a rhythm to each verse. And imagine doing so, while also connecting the various mythological tales to each other, in a way that makes sense, starting from the world’s creation and ending in Ovid’s era.
I mean, this thing is over six hundred pages in length and it contains every virtue and vice imaginable – greed, lust, murder, and many more. A couple of thoughts. Back in highschool, we had to visit a great deal of art museums. Given how these paintings often involved Greek mythology, now I wish I had read Ovid beforehand, not afterwards. Also, while reading this masterpiece, I can’t help but notice how little we’ve changed as humans – we’re still the same, lousy creatures as back then.
One vice which Ovid portrays very strikingly, is envy – the longing for others’ possessions or qualities. One example is the tale of a woman called Aglauros. The god Mercury had fallen in love with her sister, which resulted in envy and finally with Aglauros being turned into stone, “stained by her own envy”. (For those taking notes, I’m purposefully oversimplifying, read the story yourself for all the details.)
And of course, envy’s still around today. Recently I’ve read this article, in which they tried to connect fitness to the far-right, claiming white supremacists use the promotion of physical culture as some sort of recruiting tool. Now, I’m not up to speed with what’s happening with today’s far-right clans, but I’m doubtful this is a thing. Even if there’s an element of truth somehow, there’s an easy solution: let’s all get fit, across the entire political spectrum – left, right, down or up.
But let me tell you what I really feel is going on here. I’m not claiming to be Arnold, but I’ve been in the fitness game for some time now, and I’ve seen my fair share of envy. You should’ve seen people’s reactions, if they ever caught you drinking a protein shake fifteen years ago. It was as if you’d just snorted a line of cocaine – a slight exaggeration, but not by much. I won’t get too much into the weeds, suffice it to say there’s plenty of envy going around. For whatever reason, these people tend to come up with a whole list of excuses why being fit is a bad thing – I’ve seen it over and over again.
Let me just add one more thing, before I wrap things up. Years ago a couple arrived on our street, buying a home which had been for sale. They turned out to be two women, which was fine – variety is the spice of life, as they say. Anyways, we usually keep to ourselves, but as time passes, we start talking to each other every now and again. One turned out to be the more level-headed one, the other was more the dreamer type of personality. Both were very pleasant though.
One or two summers ago, they were busy renovating their garden. One day they asked me for some help. I gave them a hand, complimented them on their garden (it truly looked great), drank the Coke they’d politely offered me and I was on my way again. By this point, they were in their early forties, they’d finished a ton of renovation work on their property and it seemed like now the time had come to enjoy the fruits of their labour.
Now, I can’t claim to know them really well, but in the handful of short interactions we’d had, I got the feeling that we were friends. Unfortunately, one of the two recently fell ill – the dreamer. It turned out to be cancer and a few months later she passed away. In a couple of days, I’m going to attend the funeral.
So, let me use this platform as a reminder again, to both myself and to you, to not take life for granted. It’s gone in the blink of an eye. Let’s make the most out of life! Food for thought.
Yours truly
Vincent J. Dancet