Date: Today
Subject: Icarus lived!
Dear Friends and Brothers,
You remember Icarus? The boy with wings. Well, the purpose of the letter and this website is to explore the very real possibility that he survived, and even thrived. More than that, it is to reveal the mystery buried within the ancient myth. There is a secret here, hidden for too long.
Icarus didn't build those wings. They were made by his father, Daedalus. He was the one with the experience as a craftsman and inventor, and to do that Daedalus had to reach a point in his own life, to make a transition from being a builder of stone and wood, to becoming a builder of wings. His story has never really been told and that silence has gone on for too long. He was after all, the only witness to what happened in the sky that day.
The pathos of the image of young Icarus tumbling into the sea on broken wings has troubled me since childhood. Now a man with grown children, I am still troubled by what the myth suggests about fathers and men. Shouldn't Daedalus have known that by giving such a wonderful gift, the gift of flight and then warning his son not to fly too close to the sun, that surely Icarus would be drawn to that very place as if by invitation? Fathers understand that. So if the old myth is accurate, then Daedalus had to know that he was sending Icarus to his fate.
And what if there were more to the story? To build wings is no small feat. It had to be Daedalus' life's work. No great inventor would devote all that time and energy to create his masterpiece, only to be complicit in its destruction? Nor would a loving father.
What if Daedalus was really trying to protect his son? After all, Daedalus was an inventor. He knew how to create. What if the story of Icarus falling into the sea was one of his inventions, a ruse, a trick? What if he didn't want anyone to go looking for Icarus. Did anyone else actually see the boy fall? No. According to the story they launched from their island home, flew out over the sea and were all alone in the sky. It was Daedalus that flew on alone to the next island, where he created the mystery by telling everyone the sad tale of the boy that fell from the sky. Could it have been a diversion? Was Daedalus playing the part of a colorful bird that flushes from the nest when a predator comes too close?
So there is hope for Icarus, and for anyone dreaming of flight. Their fate depends upon the role in which the father is cast. Does Daedalus play the saboteur or the ordinary man on a hero's journey? The time has come to bring Daedalus out of the shadows, and to hear in his voice the telling of their stories. Just as it is time for our children to hear that the proper way to grow, is by extending one's reach beyond his or her grasp. The new book, Daedalus Rising, recreates the myth, elevating the father's role with the telling of his story. It is about the power and the true purpose of wings, to fly in the light and warmth of the sun.
To find out what really happened to Icarus and to learn how a man long ago, transformed into a builder of wings, you simply must read the book. To purchase a copy begin by clicking on the button on the top right. And I am available for speaking, presentations and workshops on The Power of Purpose.
Blessings,
Robert William Case
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