Psyche's 3rd Task: Fill the flask

For her third task, Psyche must fill a flask with water from an inhospitable stream, etched into a jagged cliff and guarded by dragons. "To help her in this seemingly impossible task, the eagle of Zeus, CEO of Olympus, has the ability to see what it wants and plunge from the sky and grab it with its talons," writes Jean Shinoda Bolen.

Psyche’s ability to fill the flask is symbolic of her learning how to set a goal and to achieve that goal, avoiding the inevitable distractions.

Tomorrow I begin working full-time on one of my dreams. There are so many things that need to be done to get this business up-and-running (legal documentation, bank accounts, insurance, payroll, etc), the start-up tasks could easily occupy all my time. But, the fact is, these tasks are secondary. The primary task is to invest wisely and well the monies entrusted to us.

Would it be easier and less frightening to focus on secondary tasks?

Absolutely. I could probably even persuade myself they are primary tasks, and become distracted as Psyche no doubt did; fortunately the eagle was there to help.

Photo courtesy of David Watson aka astrothug

Do we get easily distracted when working toward goals?

Worse yet, do we even bother to set and achieve goals, to dare to dream?

Sadly, a lot of women don't. Because for many, if not most women, from the time we were young girls, we may have been placated, even pampered, but our dreams were subtly, if not overtly, discouraged.

Could this really be true -- you ask.

Just take a moment and ask yourself these questions:

When you compliment women and girls, what do you emphasize?

What about men and boys?

Would it be accurate to say that with women, we focus on their appearance, or how kind they are (e.g. giving something to someone else) and with men, we focus on accomplishments?

If you're still in doubt, over the next few hours, why not compliment women/girls on what they are accomplishing, and men/boys on how they look and what they do for others?

Feels kind of wierd, doesn't it? Which is why filling the flask isn't as easy as we might have supposed.

So, the next time you get that awkward little feeling as you're daring to dream, maybe, just maybe, it's not because the dream is bad or wrong, maybe it's because we haven't really dared for a while, if ever.

Happily, we're not alone as we dare -- the eagle's there.

Comments

[Ivy]

Well, it's over a year since you've posted this, but I wanted to discuss it with you anyway. I was under the impression, strongly presented by a number of reliable resources, that Psyche's third task was to retrieve an artefact from the Underworld. I was further under the impression that the artefact was Persephone's own chest of beauty, cognate with Pandora's infamous Box. Since I know my understanding of the tale is valid, and because I feel that your understanding is equally valid, I have only one pertinent question: Who is/are your source(s) for this telling? (Because, you see, I'm always looking to expand my understanding of women's roles in mythology and religion.)

I don't believe that the two tellings are irreconcilable, especially in light of your interpretation above. I do think that the journey into the underworld is a little more, shall we say potent? (Well, for me it is, and mythology is so personal.)

Anyway, let me know, okay?