After twenty years at sea, Odysseus’ greatest victory isn’t a battle—it’s coming home.We explore how “home” is far more than a physical place; it’s the space where love, trust, and identity are restored. Drawing on Homer’s words and Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese,” this reflection invites you to find your own Ithaca—whether it’s a relationship, a calling, or an inner peace waiting to welcome you home.
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“Optimistic Beacon” launches a new 7-part series exploring The Odyssey as more than myth—it’s a mirror of our own lives. Odysseus’ journey through storms, temptations, and trials shows us how optimism and resilience can guide us home. Discover how loyalty, justice, kindness, and hope still shape our path today. Your life is an odyssey too—what storm are you facing, and what home do you long for?
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“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”― Douglas Adams
Our journey had advanced—
Our feet were almost come
To that odd Fork in Being’s Road—
Eternity—by Term—
Our pace took sudden awe—
Our feet—reluctant—led—
Before—were Cities—but Between—
The Forest of the Dead—
Retreat—was out of Hope—
Behind—a Sealed Route—
Eternity’s White Flag—Before—
And God—at every Gate—
Beneath the waning moon I walk at night,
And muse on human life–for all around
Are dim uncertain shapes that cheat the sight,
And pitfalls lurk in shade along the ground,
And broken gleams of brightness, here and there,
Glance through, and leave unwarmed the death-like air.
The trampled earth returns a sound of fear–
A hollow sound, as if I walked on tombs!
And lights, that tell of cheerful homes, appear
Far off, and die like hope amid the glooms.
A mournful wind across the landscape flies,
And the wide atmosphere is full of sighs.
And I, with faltering footsteps, journey on,
Watching the stars that roll the hours away,
Till the faint light that guides me now is gone,
And, like another life, the glorious day
Shall open o’er me from the empyreal height,
With warmth, and certainty, and boundless light.
In western lands beneath the Sun
The flowers may rise in Spring,
The trees may bud, the waters run,
The merry finches sing.
Or there maybe ’tis cloudless night,
And swaying branches bear
The Elven-stars as jewels white
Amid their branching hair.
Though here at journey’s end I lie
In darkness buried deep,
Beyond all towers strong and high,
Beyond all mountains steep,
Above all shadows rides the Sun
And Stars for ever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
Nor bid the Stars farewell.
There’s no perfect road ahead. Each road will hold a series of challenges to test whether or not you are worthy of traveling the road. We can stand at the fork of the road and ponder as Robert Frost did in his poem, The Road Less Taken, which road to take. If we freeze, unable to decide, we’ve made a choice. It too, will have challenges. Don’t fear setting out on a road that has no GPS coordinates if that road is the way to what you perceive as a chance at a better life. You’ll get lots of advice not to go. Some close friends may get angry with you. Take the chance. Good friends will cheer you on. Write Nelson Nelson Mandela‘s words on your heart, ” It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
Searching for treasure must be built into the human DNA. We’re always seeking something better, something beyond us. We invent things to help us search like genies in a bottle. Seers on mountain tops. We stop in antique stores looking for a hidden treasure. We go to auctions hoping for the same. All the while we avoid the one search that will take us to our most important treasure, taking the journey within to discover who really are. Helen Keller said, “What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me.” Dare to journey within. You’ll find some dark places, heal and forgive them. What will surprise you will be the overwhelming amount of light you find.
