Chapter 3

"When the best leaders work is done, the people say. 'We did it for ourselves'" -Lau-Tzu (The Art of Being Human tenth edition, Richard Paul Janaro, Thelma C. Altshuler, Lau-Tzu, Page 41, right margin quote two)

13th century, Author unknown, France

To lead isn't to dictate, it's important that a leader is aware of this and can properly balance the workload amongst a group. A good leader doesn't need to take the reigns and order his men around to do all the work, or on the contrary, do all the work himself. A good leader is able to assign people roles that they are most suited for and can train others to fill in the spots that are needed. Maintaining this proper balance gives workers a sense of pride and accomplishment making them believe they could have done it without the guiding hand of their leader. This statement still holds true today and I see it all the time in group activities, work, and even video games.

The 'sort of' opposite of this is also applicable in the real world. A good leader with bad followers won't get recognized for their good deeds as a leader but rather their faults. They will be blamed and ridiculed for every little human mistake they make. But that's just the cost of leading a pack of incompetent individuals.



"I've always preferred mythology to history. History is truth that becomes an illusion. Mythology is an illusion that becomes reality" -Jean Cocteau (The Art of Being Human tenth edition, Richard Paul Janaro, Thelma C. Altshuler, Jean Cocteau, Page 61, right margin quote two)

The Fable of Aráchnē- 1656, Las Hilanderas, Italy, Diego Velázquez

History can honestly be bland and mundane. It is easier to read about how a god or goddess was angry with an opposing king and caused a war between the two then two kings angry over land share. History can also be subjective. Many cultures are wiped out, ignored, and demonized so we are taught incorrectly about them. After all, history is written by the victors

The story of Arachnia in Greek mythology is a good example of how an illusion became a reality. The story is about a woman who was an amazing weaver. She weaved so well people would comment on how she was as talented as the gods. Athena, the goddess born lady, was a jealous one and challenged Arachnia to weave her a story of the gods' sins and secrets and to tell it true (in some tellings she challenges her to a sew-off). In the end, Arachnia sews a beautiful tapestry and completes her challenge revealing the secrets of the gods and proving she could weave as well as any. Athena became enraged and warped Arachnias body into a weaving one, a spider. Some believe this is how spiders were made, a beautiful illusion that is much more interesting than going over evolution and natural causes for the predator to actually exist. The story gives a nice and easy way to learn about the origin of the animal. This story is also where we get the word arachnid for spiders. So the story that holds no actual scientific merit still was influential enough to merit the actual study to be named after it.



"Dreams are private myths. Myths are public dreams" -Joseph Campbell (The Art of Being Human tenth edition, Richard Paul Janaro, Thelma C. Altshuler, Joseph Campbell, Page 43, right margin quote one)

18th century, Aurora and Titonus, Italy, Francesco de Mura

I like the idea that myths are public dreams because many myths readout like odd fever dreams. Many myths simply don't make sense and have many plot holes in them, others seem to be an odd way to rationalize reality (like Arachnia). When you dream it is your own little story. Whether you choose to believe in them or not is your choice. You may believe you are clairvoyant and that your dreams help you predict the future, that would be your own personal belief and myth. If you are to make your dreams public or beliefs on the matter public and they catch on then they may become a myth or a fairy tale, making your dream a public dream.

You could also do what I love to do and take your weird dreams and make them into stories. Even if you don't believe what you dream is true the creativity of the human mind is amazing and I love to see what people unconsciously make up.