Daphne and the Laurel Tree

The story of Daphne and the Laurel Tree is both depressing and heart warming. Apollo, being the vein man he is, one day doubted the archery skills of Eros. For this, Eros fired two arrows. One was dipped and gold and was granted with everlasting lust. The other was dipped in lead and was granted with hatred toward love. Of course, the one granting everlasting lust hit apollo, and the other hit Daphne. Terrorized by her disgust toward love and Apollo's unwillingness to drop his pursuit for her, Daphne ran to her dad who had the power to transform. He transformed Daphne into a tree. Apollo then declared that this tree was his tree, and made a laurel wreath of it's leaves.

This story is very heart wrenching, as it alludes to what many people spend their lives going through. Insatiable lust. Many people go their whole lives lusting after someone whom they can never get. We have all been through it one way or another, so in a way, this story hits closer to home to many people and has a much more personal connection. It is heart warming in a way that shows man's commitment and loyalty to what he loves. He goes as far as to keep the tree with him for his entire life, showing his utter commitment to Daphne. To me this symbolizes a man's wife dying. A man's love for his wife stretches far beyond her mortality, and many people go the rest of their life, after their loved one dies, clinging on to things that remind them of their loved one.

I believe that eternal youth is overrated. What I would like is eternal sexagenarian-ism. My grandparents are in their sixties, and seem to be happier than they have ever been. The only thing that keeps them from happiness is their death looming over them, so if they were granted eternal life during this time, I believe it would be the happiest age to be granted eternal life. You have lived sixty years, which means you are much smarter and wiser than you are in your youth, and you are respected as an elderly. Not to mention the fact that after 65 you can retire, which means you will not have to work for all of eternity. In the television show American Horror Story, Jessica Lange plays a woman who appears to be in her 60's. She is a witch who is on a quest for eternal life, and it will be interesting to see how her endeavor plays out.

Jessica Lange in American Horror Story: Coven