Elysium

Isn't that just a really fun word to say? E-lee-see-um. It flows and it sounds pretty which is probably related to the fact the the actual place was supposed to be beautiful, and well, heavenly. So I just finished rereading Percy Jackson, the Lightning Thief, and I still love these books. It is nice sometimes to read something that is not as challenging, but still imparts great basic truths. So One of the biggest things that struck me this read through was this part when the heroes are in the underworld on their quest to put things right.

"There's a court for dead people?"

"Yeah. Three judges. They switch around who sits on the bench. King Minos, Thomas Jefferson, Shakespeare--people like that. Sometimes they look at a life and decide that person needs a special reward--the Fields of Elysium. Sometimes they decide on punishment. But most people, well, they just lived. Nothing special, good or bad."

Ok, now personally I can draw about a hundred comparisons between Greek Mythology and the Gospel, but this one is a little bigger. They just lived. How sad. I realized after I read that, that I don't want to just live. I want to do something! I want to make a difference and change something for the better. When my time of judgement comes as it must for us all, I want to be symbolically deemed Elysium Fields material. I want to live a good life.

But what does that really mean? I make lots of mistakes everyday. Some of which I continue to make for years at a time. For the most part, my heart is in the right place. In part my mistakes are made out of ignorance, or stupidity. Sometimes they are intentional, I just don't realize that I subconsciously meant to do something until after I have done it when it is naturally much harder to fix it. I have been through dark times in my life, bouts with depression and many of the same type of struggles that so many others face. Thankfully, the Lord has guided me through it all and led me to one simple truth of how to live that good life.

One day at a time.

Each and every moment of each and every day is a new chance to do it right. Many if not most trials and struggles carry over through many days, but every night I have the chance to go to bed with a good attitude and every morning I have the chance to look at the day with a positive outlook. It's a choice I make everyday. Sadly sometimes I choose wrong. But more often these days I am choosing right. I choose to be happy and calm. In my opinion despite my imperfections and mistakes, I think I am living a good life. Now things will be fine if I can just survive the next twenty years . . . .

As a side note, if you know anything about Greek Mythology, take a moment, if you haven't and compare things like Hercules with true history. Or the three different places you can end up when you die. Or the idea that there are children of god.

So yes, I love another kids book. I read the whole series with my 10 year old son. He loved them. The action is nonstop and the characters are faced with tough choices, and almost always make the right one. It's a great ideal for a young boy: a child of a god, with great potential and powers, who is constantly under attack from evil forces and fights for the right through all of it. Each child on this earth is a "demi-god", so let's teach them what that means and train them to fulfill their destinies.