For those who don't know the story, Midas was the king of Phrygia in Asia Minor to whom the god Dionysus granted one wish after Midas had provided for the safe return of Dionysus' foster father, the satyr Silenus. Midas wished everything he touched would turn to gold. In a version of the myth well-told during Aristotle's time, Midas starved to death due to his food and wine turning into inedible gold thanks to this gift. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1852 version of the myth, Midas turns his daughter - Zoe - into a golden statue with his embrace. In several versions, Midas, after experiencing these unintended consequences, asks Dionysus to release him from this gift turned curse. Dionysus tells Midas to wash in the river Pactolus, and that once Midas has done so, anything he put into the waters of the river would be reversed of the golden touch as well.
The moral of this story is, of course, be careful what you wish for.
So, when you are thinking the grass is greener somewhere else, go through the Five Whys and other soul-searching methods to determine what it is you truly seek. Then, determine what that really means if you implement the changes needed to gain that which you seek by running through some if/then scenarios - if I do this, then that happens - to at least the depth of the Five Whys. Be as brutally honest as possible when going through these scenarios; see the best and worst outcomes possible in order to get to the most realistic ones.
By doing this in-depth work, you will be better able to determine what it is you truly seek and if you are really prepared to pay the potential price for pursuing that which you seek. Your eyes will be more open to the possible consequences of your actions by taking the time to think things through in this manner.
Next week we begin to move into Spring, and our topic will be the Seeds We Sow - until then, Namaste!
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