WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.639 --> 00:00:10.720 Hello, and welcome to Mythic Mind. We're pursue wisdom on the past between 2 00:00:10.759 --> 00:00:14.240 primary second day worlds. I'm your host, Andrew Snyder, and I am 3 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:30.600 truly grateful for your company. All Right, So it's been a little while 4 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:34.159 sintil last episode. It seems that I overestimated the amount of time that would 5 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:37.079 have in this new season of my life. But my wife and I have 6 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:40.399 worked together to coordinate to schedule, and so hopefully I'll be able to do 7 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:44.320 a little bit better with consistently posting new content for you soon. But for 8 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:47.799 now, I'm including one of my Grim episodes, which comes from a now 9 00:00:47.880 --> 00:00:51.039 semi patron exclusive series. I'm the first. I want to think all of 10 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:55.359 my patrons and think by name my super patrons and hire, including Mark, 11 00:00:55.479 --> 00:00:59.280 Nick Cliff, Paul Aaron, Aaron Brandon, Andrew, Emmy Harrison, Ian, 12 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:03.479 Jamie Castle, and Joshua, Laura, Matthew and William. I am 13 00:01:03.520 --> 00:01:06.439 so grateful for each of you, as well as all of the standard tier 14 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:10.560 patrons who make these projects possible, especially now that I've cast my lot on 15 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:12.719 the throes of adject work for my day job. It means so much to 16 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:17.359 me that you would partner with me in building this community, and I hope 17 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:21.239 making a positive difference in the current state of the humanities as well as each 18 00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:26.040 of our individual lives. I know that I certainly have been personally enriched by 19 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:30.159 the community that's developed around these ideas. If you would like to join the 20 00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:34.680 Mythic Mind Guild and gain access to early and ad free content, including this 21 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:38.799 podcast as well as the new Collaborative Guild podcast, and join our private discord 22 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:42.359 server and gain the right to publish content through our guild substack and podcast, 23 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:47.359 you can head over to patreon dot com slash Mythic Mind. You can gain 24 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:49.560 all this for as little as five dollars a month, but of course higher 25 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:53.480 levels of support are also appreciated and come with other perks as well. But 26 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:57.879 for now I give you my reading and some reflections on the grim tail of 27 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:07.560 Little red riding Hood. Once upon a time, there was a dear little 28 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:10.759 girl who was loved by everyone who looked at her, but most of all 29 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:14.759 by her grandmother, and there was nothing that she would not have given to 30 00:02:14.840 --> 00:02:17.759 the child. Once she gave her a little riding hood of red velvet, 31 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:22.719 which suited her so well that she would never wear anything else, so she 32 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:25.479 was always called Little Red riding Hood. One day her mother said to her, 33 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:29.439 come, little Red riding Hood, here's a piece of cake and a 34 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:32.159 bottle of wine. Take them to your grandmother. She is ill and weak, 35 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:36.280 and they will do her good. Set out before it gets hot. 36 00:02:36.439 --> 00:02:38.680 And when you're going, walk nicely and quietly, and do not run off 37 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:42.639 the path, or you may fall and break the bottle, and then your 38 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:46.520 grandmother will get nothing. And when you go into a room, don't forget 39 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:50.560 to say good morning, and don't peep into every corner before you do it. 40 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:53.719 I will take great care, said Little Red riding Hood to her mother, 41 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:55.960 and gave her hand on it. The grandmother lived out in the wood 42 00:02:57.159 --> 00:03:00.280 half a league from the village, and just as the Little Red riding could 43 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:02.840 enter the wood, a wolf met her. Red riding Hood did not know 44 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:06.879 what a wicked creature he was, and was not at all afraid of him. 45 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:12.120 Good day, Little Red riding Hood said, he thank you kindly. 46 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:17.360 Wolf with her away, so early, little Red riding Hood to my grandmother's 47 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:23.400 what have you got in your apron cake and wine? Yesterday was baking day, 48 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:27.199 So poor sick grandmother is to have something good to make her stronger. 49 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:31.719 Oh, and where does your grandmother live, Little Red riding Hood? A 50 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:35.840 good quarter of a league farther in the wood. The house stands under the 51 00:03:35.879 --> 00:03:38.560 three large oak trees. The nut trees are just below. You surely must 52 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:42.479 know, it, replied the little Red riding Hood. The wolf thought to 53 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:47.840 himself, what a tender young creature, What a nice, plump mouthful. 54 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:53.639 She will be better to eat than the old woman. I must act craftily 55 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:57.520 so as to catch both. So he walked for a short time by the 56 00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:00.479 side of the little Red riding Hood, and then he said, see, 57 00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:03.759 little Red riding Hood, how pretty the flowers are about here? Why do 58 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:09.520 you not look round? I believe too that you will not hear how sweetly 59 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:13.960 the little birds are singing. You walk gravely along, as if you were 60 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:16.439 going to school, while everything else out here in the wood is merry. 61 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:20.839 Little Red riding Hood raised her eyes, and when she saw the sunbeams dancing 62 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:25.519 here and there through the trees, and pretty flowers growing everywhere, she thought, 63 00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:30.279 supposed to take grandmother fresh nosegay. That would please her too. It 64 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:31.879 is so early in the day that I shall still get there in good time. 65 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:34.800 So she ran from the path into the woods to look for flowers, 66 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:39.040 and whenever she had picked one, she fancied that she saw a still prettier 67 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:43.360 one farther on, and ran after it, and so got deeper and deeper 68 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:46.279 into the wood. Meanwhile, the wolf ranch straight to the grandmother's house and 69 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:51.040 knocked at the door. Little Red riding Hood replied the wolf she had bringing 70 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:57.000 cake and wine. Open the door, lift the latch, called the grandmother, 71 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:00.600 I am too weak and cannot get up. The wolf lifted the latch, 72 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:03.800 the door sprang open, and without saying a word, he went straight 73 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:08.879 to the grandmother's bed and devoured her. Then he put on her clothes, 74 00:05:09.079 --> 00:05:13.120 dressed himself in her cap, laid himself in bed, and drew the curtains. 75 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:15.680 Little Red riding Hood, however, had been running about picking flowers, 76 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:18.680 and when she had gathered so many that she could carry no more, she 77 00:05:18.759 --> 00:05:23.639 remembered her grandmother and set out on the way to her. She was surprised 78 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:26.959 to find the cottage door standing open, and when she went into the room, 79 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:30.399 she had such a strange feeling that she said to herself, oh, 80 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:33.199 dear, how uneasy I feel to day? And at other times. I 81 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:39.480 liked being with my grandmother so much. She called out good good morning, 82 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:43.600 but received no answer. So she went out to the bed and drew back 83 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:46.199 the curtains. There lay her grandmother, with her cap pull far over her 84 00:05:46.199 --> 00:05:51.480 face and looking very strange. Oh, grandmother, she said, what big 85 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:58.240 ears you have? All the better to hear you with my child, was 86 00:05:58.279 --> 00:06:01.519 the reply. But grand mother, what big eyes you have, she said, 87 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:06.240 All the better to see you with, my dear. But grandmother, 88 00:06:06.519 --> 00:06:13.399 what large hands you have, All the better to hug you with. Oh, 89 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:16.800 but grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have? All the better 90 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:23.000 to eat you with. And scarcely had the wolf said this, than with 91 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:26.480 one bound he was out of the bed and swallowed up red riding hood. 92 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:30.040 When the wolf had a piece's appetite, he laid down in the bed, 93 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:33.839 fell asleep, and began to snore very loudly. The huntsman was just passing 94 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:38.680 the house and thought to himself, how the old woman is snoring. I 95 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:41.800 must just see if she wants anything. So he went to the room, 96 00:06:41.800 --> 00:06:44.560 and when he came to the bed, he saw that the wolf was lying 97 00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:47.120 in it. Do I find you here, you old sinner? He said? 98 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:50.199 I have long sought you. But just as he was going to fire 99 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:54.199 at him, it occurred to him that the wolf might have devoured the grandmother, 100 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:57.519 and that she might still be saved. So he did not fire, 101 00:06:57.800 --> 00:07:00.639 but took a pair of scissors and began to cut open the stomach of the 102 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:03.480 sleeping wolf. When he had made two snips, he saw little Red riding 103 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:06.879 Hood shining. And then he made two snips more, and the little girl 104 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:11.680 sprang out, crying, Ah, how frightened I had been, how dark 105 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:15.519 it was inside. After that, the aged grandmother came out alive, also, 106 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:18.680 but scarcely able to breathe. Red riding Hood, however, quickly fetched 107 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:23.000 great stones with which they filled the wolf's belly, And when he awoke, 108 00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:26.199 he wanted to run away, but the stones were so heavy that he collapsed 109 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:30.199 at once and fell dead. Then all three were delighted. The huntsman drew 110 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:32.399 off the wolfskin and went home with it. The grandmother ate the cake and 111 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:36.079 drank the wine which Red Riding Hood had brought and revived. But Red Riding 112 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:40.680 Hood thought to herself, as long as I live, I will never leave 113 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:43.879 the path by myself to run into the wood. When my mother has forbidden 114 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:46.519 me to do so. It is also related that once, when Red Riding 115 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:50.040 Hood was again taking cakes to the old grandmother, another wolf spoke to her 116 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:54.160 and tried to entice her from the path. Red riding Hood, however, 117 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:58.160 was on her guard and went straight forward on her way and told her grandmother 118 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:00.639 that she had met the wolf, and that he had said good morning to 119 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:03.759 her, but with such a wicked look in his eyes that if they had 120 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:05.720 not been on the public road, she was certain he would have eaten her 121 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:11.959 up. Well, said the grandmother, we will shut the door so that 122 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:16.879 he cannot come in. Soon afterward, the wolf knocked and cried opened the 123 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:20.879 door, grandmother, I am little Red Riding Hood, and I am bringing 124 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:24.639 you some cakes. But they did not speak or open the door. So 125 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:28.639 the graybeard stole twice or thrice round the house, and at last jumped on 126 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:31.840 the roof, intending to wait until Red Riding Hood went home in the evening, 127 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.279 and then to steal after her and devour her in the darkness. But 128 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:39.879 the grandmother saw wolves in his thoughts. In front of the house was a 129 00:08:39.879 --> 00:08:43.480 great stone trough, so she said to the child, take the pail. 130 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:48.120 Red Riding Hood, I made some sausages yesterday to carry the water in which 131 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:50.679 I boiled them to the trough. Red riding Hood carried until the great trough 132 00:08:50.759 --> 00:08:54.039 was quite full. Then the smell of the sausages reached the wolf, and 133 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:58.840 he sniffed and peeped down, and at last rushed out his neck so far 134 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:01.399 that he could no longer his footing, and began to slip and slip down 135 00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:05.399 from the roof straight into the great trough, and was drowned. But Red 136 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:09.720 riding Hood went joyously home, and no one ever did any harm to her 137 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:28.120 again. Okay, so the chief characters in the story are little Red riding 138 00:09:28.120 --> 00:09:31.039 Hood, the grandmother, the wolf, and eventually the hunter. So starting 139 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:35.720 with Red, now she's a young girl loved by all. She obviously symbolizes 140 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:39.080 innocence, which, to be clear, it is not the same as being 141 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:46.600 virtuous true innocence. It's a kind of pre moral naivete. Virtue, on 142 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:52.080 the other hand, is chosen in conscious opposition to evil, to immorality. 143 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:58.600 So the mother is really not doing her job appropriately when she sent her little 144 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:01.399 girl out into the forest. And remember that the force is a classic symbol 145 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:07.159 of the chaotic and the unknown. It's uncultivated, it's undomesticated, it's unexplored 146 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:13.279 territory. Okay, So this is the kid sent off to college or honestly 147 00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:18.039 even public school without being taught how to engage in moral reasoning. And this 148 00:10:18.120 --> 00:10:22.120 is basically non debatable that in each of these scenarios we're dealing with a kid 149 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:26.440 being sent right into the mouth of a wolf. That are being sent into 150 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:31.720 the forest without being taught how to navigate up properly. Okay, So the 151 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:35.240 girl's given a red velvet hood. Okay, why red? Well, Red 152 00:10:35.320 --> 00:10:39.960 is sometimes a symbol of blood, such as with sacrifice or courage. It's 153 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:45.759 also sometimes a symbol of passion and even sexuality, and that certainly might be 154 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:50.759 a theme at play here beneath the surface. But Red goes out into the 155 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:54.440 woods to visit her grandmother and she's met by the wolf. We're told that 156 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:58.720 she doesn't know how wicked the wolf is, and so she doesn't properly fear 157 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:03.600 him. And again she's innocent, and in this context that means she's naive. 158 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:09.679 She doesn't notice that the wolf is engaging in some classic predatory behavior. 159 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:13.919 He's coming beside her as a friend, he's digging into her life and her 160 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:18.679 goals, and he's contemplating how he can bend those goals in service to his 161 00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:24.080 aims. To this extent, he doesn't mind preying on the young and the 162 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:28.399 elderly, which are typically the most vulnerable groups of people. So now the 163 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:31.960 wolf is going to speed ahead that he might devour the grandmother and then make 164 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:35.679 use of Red's compassion to feed his hunger. You see, this is what 165 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:41.559 makes the wolf so diabolical. He takes her concern for others and he's going 166 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:45.759 to make sure that he capitalizes on it for his own sake. And this 167 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:50.000 is what predators do. They get involved in the lives of their prey in 168 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:56.279 such a way that in the end their prey becomes willingly victimized. Okay, 169 00:11:56.279 --> 00:11:58.399 so you know what happens next. The wolf runs ahead, he devours the 170 00:11:58.440 --> 00:12:03.639 grandmother, and then Red finally makes it and checks things out. She discovers 171 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:07.799 that the wolf is masquerading as her grandmother because again he wants to relate to 172 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:11.080 her from a position of trust. Now, of course, the lesson to 173 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:16.200 be gained here is certainly not that you shouldn't trust anyone. The lesson here 174 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:18.799 is that we need some discern him. We need wisdom, We need to 175 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:26.840 know how wolves think, and we need to recognize that virtue is ultimately superior 176 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:31.919 to childish innocent. It's virtue that enables us to recognize the wolf into combat 177 00:12:31.960 --> 00:12:35.120 it appropriately, at the very least to avoid it. Innocence will not grant 178 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:41.679 us this, and so of course we need to trust people worth trusting. 179 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:46.039 But it is also imperative that we don't just naively and trust ourselves to a 180 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:50.639 wolf. And so when you start to notice that someone you thought was a 181 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:56.039 friend has big teeth, hands, ears, and eyes, well that's someone 182 00:12:56.120 --> 00:12:58.919 that you need to evict from your inner circle immediately, because I mean, 183 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.600 you show kindness to a wolf and pretty soon you're a shepherd without a flock. 184 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:09.720 Okay, So read, however, didn't practice this kind of discernment, 185 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:11.960 and she ends up getting herself eaten. Now, when I first read the 186 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:16.279 story for this episode, you know, I hadn't read it for quite some 187 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:18.600 time, and so I admit that I was shocked by the turn of events. 188 00:13:20.120 --> 00:13:22.960 But of course you have to remember that this is a fairy story, 189 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:26.879 which typically means that there's going to be an unexpected happy turn at some point. 190 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:31.360 But before that point, the wolf has a full belly, and so 191 00:13:31.399 --> 00:13:35.559 he goes asleep and he begins to snore. Now the huntsman hears the snoring 192 00:13:35.559 --> 00:13:39.039 and decides to check things out. He sees the wolf and he identifies him 193 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:45.000 as a sinner. Now note that the words sin literally means something like to 194 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:48.519 miss the mark, and so the wolf is someone who has lost sight of 195 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:52.480 the proper path. We aren't meant to trick, to deceive, and to 196 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:56.519 consume others. We're meant to take responsibility for our actions, to live with 197 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:01.639 integrity, defeat monsters, and share their plunder with the community. Well, 198 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:05.840 the wolf didn't do any of that. He missed the mark of proper existence, 199 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.600 and now he's going to lose what he unjustly gained. And this is 200 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:13.799 what happens when you refuse to sacrifice and instead well, instead you do the 201 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:20.600 opposite of sacrifice, which is something like unjust consumption. See, in sacrifice, 202 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:26.000 you give up what you recognize never really belonged to you. The opposing 203 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:31.720 action here would be you unjustly claim what doesn't belong to you. In sacrifice, 204 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:35.600 you seem to lose something, but then you end up gaining it. 205 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:39.639 More truly. See lately, I've been spending a lot of time with Guard's 206 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:43.559 fear and trembling, which is centered around Abraham's sacrifice of his son Isaac. 207 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:48.840 Now, Kurt Guard makes the point that Abraham wasn't a murderer. You see, 208 00:14:48.919 --> 00:14:54.240 God commanded Abraham to give up his promise son, but God also promised 209 00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:58.960 that he would fulfill his covenantal promises through Isaac. And so Abraham was obedient 210 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:03.840 into the commandment while maintaining faith in the promise. He went up with Isaac's 211 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:09.559 and Mount Mariah and believed with the apparently absurd faith that somehow or another, 212 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:13.320 he would come back to mountain with his son. See. Faithful sacrifice is 213 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:18.120 the giving up of what never really belonged to you, with the hope that 214 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:22.279 it will be returned to you anew This is why Christians are always told to 215 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:26.440 hold this world in open hand, and even more so, to be crucified 216 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:30.879 to the desires of this world, only to have the world renewed through crucifixion 217 00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:35.799 and return to us more whole, more eternally ours. Alternatively, those who 218 00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:41.799 grasp of finite passing things with a thieving hand will only find that they are 219 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:48.320 chasing after vapors here today and gone tomorrow. So surely enough the wolf loses 220 00:15:48.440 --> 00:15:50.799 what he gained by sin. He missed the target, and he lost his 221 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:56.039 bounty as the huntsman cut into his belly and freed Red and her grandmother. 222 00:15:56.639 --> 00:16:00.960 Now worse still for the wolf, Red filled the wolf's belly with so when 223 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:03.279 and try to run, it collapsed and died. There is a way that 224 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:07.919 seems good to man and to beast, but it is a path that is 225 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:14.840 swallowed up in misery and death. Now after this there is an epilogue which 226 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:18.639 shows the new awareness of evil that Read possesses. Another wolf meets her on 227 00:16:18.679 --> 00:16:22.200 the road and tries to lure her from the path, but she ignores it, 228 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:26.159 and it's feigned pleasantries, and she continues on the road. And so 229 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:30.320 we see here that she is a different character than she was at the beginning 230 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:33.879 of the story. She isn't naive any longer. She recognizes the reality of 231 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:38.039 malevolence, of evil. She knows that not everyone who wishes her a good 232 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:44.399 morning truly wishes that her morning be good. She hasn't lost her devotion to 233 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:48.480 goodness, and her relationship with her grandmother is likely better than ever. So 234 00:16:48.519 --> 00:16:52.480 on one hand, she isn't jaded or bitter, as it is easy to 235 00:16:52.039 --> 00:16:56.320 become when you've suffered at the hand of gross malevolence. I mean, consider, 236 00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:00.639 for an instance, the old stories about werewolves. Now, typically you 237 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:04.680 become a werewolf because you are once prey. You were bitten by the beast, 238 00:17:04.759 --> 00:17:08.440 and you got away. However, you didn't really get away because you 239 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:14.839 came to identify with your victimizer. And that is not victory. Fortunately, 240 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:18.279 that isn't what Red does here. She doesn't become a wolf, but now 241 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:22.559 she does know how they think she is more discerning, she's more wise. 242 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:26.759 She's a shrewd as a viper, but innocent as a dove. And she 243 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:32.079 won't be lured off the straight and narrow road to her proper destination. And 244 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:34.839 this is so important. She has learned not to be distracted. She has 245 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:38.640 learned to see the path through the forest. She has learned to navigate the 246 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:42.960 order amidst the chaos. And so keep your eyes on the proper path and 247 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:48.160 you'll find your way to where you need to be going. Lose focus and 248 00:17:48.200 --> 00:17:52.200 you'll lose yourself. Lose focus and you will find yourself in the belly of 249 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:56.039 a wolf, whether it be a foreign beast or one of your own making. 250 00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:00.319 So she continues to her grandmother's house. This new wolf shows up, 251 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:04.079 but read in her grandmother are ready. This time, they lured it into 252 00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:08.240 a trough where it drowns itself. And of course, remember that while evil 253 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:14.279 can certainly be intelligent, it isn't very wise, and so it can generally 254 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:18.680 be outwitted by its own misplaced passions. Pursuing its own hunger, the wolf 255 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:23.079 grasp at the vapors of satisfaction, leading to its own demise. And this 256 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:27.160 is the ultimate fate of evil. It can never produce, It only takes 257 00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:33.079 until finally it takes of its own being. It is the consuming abyss that 258 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:37.880 inevitably consumes itself. If you want a life of despair, then simply follow 259 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:42.200 your unbridled passions, and I can guarantee that you will find it. But 260 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:45.200 if you want to know joy, regardless of what might try to take you 261 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:49.079 off the path, I'm regardless of what malevolence might target you or what suffering 262 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:53.559 you might endure, you will endure and you will be victorious if you cease 263 00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:57.799 your endless consumption and learn the power of sacrifice, and so I end with 264 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:03.160 a passage that a quoted from C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity. He 265 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:07.559 writes, give up yourself and you will find your real self. Lose yourself 266 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:10.839 and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and 267 00:19:10.880 --> 00:19:14.000 favorite wishes every day, and death of your whole body. In the end, 268 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:18.200 Submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. 269 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:22.240 Keep back nothing, Nothing that you have not given away will really be 270 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:26.119 yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the 271 00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:30.000 dead. Look for yourself and you will find the long run only hatred, 272 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:33.799 loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ 273 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:41.440 and you will find him and with him everything else thrown in. Thank you 274 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:45.640 for joining me on this adventure. I hope to have brand new content for 275 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:48.720 you soon, but for now, I encourage you to support my efforts by 276 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:52.799 subscribing to this podcast, as well as the Mythic Mind Humanity's Guild podcasts, 277 00:19:52.200 --> 00:19:56.759 and sharing them around. Additionally, you can join the Guild to support my 278 00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:00.839 work financially at patreon dot com slash Mythic mon Mind. Everybody support helps the 279 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:04.359 road to go ever on But that's it for now. Until next time, 280 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:07.440 I wish you many meaningful roads ahead.