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Mithras the Adult in Hand, Heart and Head

We all start as children, but we don't all get to adulthood. Some parts of us receive what they need to grow into maturity, but other parts remain undeveloped and immature. We can simplify these parts of us as 'Hand, Heart and Head'.

An Adult in Hand is a capable person - able to do the practical things that are needed to survive and flourish in the world. In pre-modern times an adult man would be able to hunt animals for food, make tools, build a shelter and fight off hostile neighbours etc.

An Adult in Heart is an emotionally mature and strong person. An adult in heart may get angry or fearful but he keeps these feelings in proportion to the task at hand. Where the situation demands it he can push through emotions such as fear in order to do what he needs to do. He is not overly affected by the emotions of others, and can deal with them straightforwardly, neither letting them sway him too much, nor feeling a need to push them away.

An Adult in Head is an intellectually mature and enlightened person. He is able to reason dispassionately - i.e. make sense of things without letting emotions get in the way. He recognises his own way of seeing things is exactly that - a way of seeing things - and not the final truth about reality. He is engaged in a continual pursuit to make better sense of the world - to understand it more truthfully and in greater complexity.

Growing towards adulthood comes about as we strive to interact with the world, and the world feeds back to us. Only if we are very lucky do we get the right kind of interaction that allows us to develop smoothly and completely into adults. Usually our environment is imperfect, and doesn't provide all the 'food' we need to grow, of the right kind and at the right time. We may develop in some areas and not others. We may become injured in some way which makes further growth very difficult if we cannot heal.

Mithras however is the ideal of the fully adult - one who has gained the right experience to fully grow in his every aspect. As a consequence Mithras is able to 'turn the stars in the heavens' as the ancients thought - i.e. he is able to escape the sirens, the traps and prisons that most of us fall into in life and pursue his purpose directly and effectively.

It is our task as Mithraists to seek to become more like Mithras. We strive to grow up. If we are injured we strive to gain healing. If healthy we strive to gain challenge and experience for our growth.

However do not think this is a purely individual project. The experiences we can have depend very much of what other people do. Thus we must work together to create the right experiences for each other - those more mature, helping those less mature just as a good parent helps their child or a sage teaches his disciples.
BE) "Mithras embodies the ideal of the Wise, Benevolent, and Courageous Adult, a being whose cognizance and acceptance of the world’s contingencies and its inexorable forces is equally and maturely balanced by his adoration of the Good and his commitment to bring about its ever-progressing realization in this world."