According to legend, in the ancient Phrygian city of Gordium — in what is now part of modern day Turkey — there once was a memorial to a king, Midas, son of Gordias. Curiously, this memorial consisted of a cart whose shaft was fastened to a post with a large and intricate knot where neither end of the rope was visible. An oracle had foretold that whoever could untie this Gordian knot would become ruler of all Asia, and for several hundred years thousands of travelers tried but failed in their efforts to untie the knot.
Then in 333 B.C. Alexander arrived in Gordium, and when he couldn’t find the ends of the rope, he untied it by drawing his sword and cutting the knot in half.
The problems of our lives can often seem as unsolvable as the Gordian knot, and most of us spend our entire lives looking for the exposed ends, hoping to unravel it all and make sense of it. We work on our parent issues, our addictions, our relationships, our marriages, our children, our abandonment issues, our sexual issues, and so on. Taken all together, it can seem hopelessly complicated.
But all these apparently unrelated problems are united by a common bond. Every thread of confusion and unhappiness in our lives is connected to the emptiness and fear that result from a lack of the one element — Real Love — that we must have in order to be happy.
Once we really understand that the lack of Real Love is the root of all the problems we experience, the solution to those problems becomes rather obvious. As we find and share Real Love, we cut through the confusion and unhappiness in our lives as surely as Alexander cut through the apparent complexities of the Gordian knot.
On many occasions I have spoken with people who have been to five, eight, even ten therapists. In addition, they have attended dozens of workshops and read literally hundreds of self help books. And these people have consistently expressed their delight that the message of Real Love is so simple, that it cuts through all the haze and illuminates the truths they’ve always wanted to know.
As you diligently practice telling the truth about yourself, and as you exercise faith in that process, you will begin to feel the Real Love that other people have to offer. You’ll also share that love with others, and you do all this, you’ll see the knots of your life simply fall away before you. It really does seem like a miracle.
