| 1.5-1 Chimeras |
Chimera. What is a chimera? I had never heard of the word until well after my trip
around the world. According to Webster, a chimera is 'something that seems real
but which you never seem to be able to achieve; an illusion or fabrication of the
mind; especially, an unrealizable dream'. From Webster as well, the word has its
origin in Greek Mythology - "the Chimera was a fire-breathing she-monster made up
of the front parts of a lion, the middle parts of a goat, and the tail of a snake."
To me a chimera is kind of like a dream that you never get to finish or wake up
from. Maybe like a 'lucid dream'?
I suppose a few good examples of chimeras are as follows:
Ponce de Leon’s lifelong search for the Fountain of Youth
(his name rhymes with ‘Phone’ and then ‘Say’ - )
Good old Ponce spent a large part of his years following leads from the Carib or
Taino Indians inhabiting the islands of the Caribbean. He died still searching. Such
was his fate.
The Northwest Passage
The story of a passable waterway across the North American continent was a
chimera which occupied many a mans life starting soon after Columbus discovered
the 'New World'. It was supposed to be like a river that cut across the whole of
America, connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific. How many lives did this chimera
consume? A passageway does exist today which is above Canada due to pack ice
melting in the region.
Riches through Finding Gold
Many many through our recent history have had the dream to get rich quick by
discovering gold. The Spanish had gold fever for centuries after Columbus
discovered the 'New World' and the Americans caught the fever during the
California and Alaska Gold rushes. In the Alaska case thousands of men came but
only a few made any money finding gold.
The Garden of Eden
I believe the Garden of Eden is a chimera of sorts. It seems to me that many of us
have this chimera in our minds. I’m not sure if it is there naturally or built up from
childhood though. The Garden of Eden, a perfect world where food is available
upon demand from a plenitude of fruit trees, animals live in harmony with man, and
the climate is perfectly accommodating to all. Is this just a memory engraved in our
minds from some distance or a real place from which man came or is it the place
man wants to go? Could it be both?
So, what was my chimera? Why was I traveling the world? What was I looking for?
What dream did I have that I might not ever achieve or 'wake up' from? Only time
would answer that one and I still have more than a year and a half to find my dream
whilst traveling around the world...
World Turned Upside Down