Saturday, April 18, 2009

Find Your Grail

Last night my husband S and I took our girls to see Spamalot and very good time was had my three out of the four of us. Tiny Daughter M didn't get the nerd gene, so she made the best of it.

I was surprised to find myself inspired by the musical. In spite of the name of one of their films, I have never looked for profundity or the meaning of life in Monty Python. The live musical is more big budget farce and less absurdist experiment than the film that inspired it (one of my all time favorites). Both versions are just supposed to be irreverent and fun.

On the other hand, I'm taking away a new phrase from Spamalot in addition to all the lines I regularly quote from Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, "Find Your Grail". The emphasis here is on the "your" grail, rather than "the" grail. Now, I am a King Arthur geek from way back. I love Celtic myth and the Arthurian traditions in particular. But in the Christian version of the legends, the knights are always seeking the Holy Grail. It is the one true cup of Christ that heals both individuals and the land. Only the pure can find it and use it and it comes from the one true God.

But Spamalot's spin on this gets me right where I am right now. Find Your Grail. It is not the one true message or goal handed down from above. We don't need to all measure up in a specific way to be worthy of it. It's your grail. Find what is meaningful and true and redeeming for you. Look hard for it. Claim it. Heal yourself and others with it. Sing, and dance, and remember fun and irreverence along the way.

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