Hotaling & Hereafters

     "I'm out walking the streets, addicted, homeless, sleeping in the gutter, and someday I am going to be in a place where I'm supposed to be telling people about this horror. I am supposed to change things."

Norma Hotaling (Porras, Emery, Thompson, 105)

     Norma Hotaling's story of conquering overwhelming adversities in order to achieve her dream was truly inspiring. A former drug-addicted prostitute dwelling in a dilapidated motel among fellow addicts and dealers, she did not hold out much hope for a brighter future. Once beaten by a pimp, Norma was left with a plate, wires and screws in her skull as permanent reminders of her horrowing ordeal. Even though she suffered immensely, Norma persevered to become the prominent figure that she is today. By establishing The Sage Project, she is able to make a difference in countless women's lives, people who were living as Norma once had. Her wish is to assist women get out of the business of prostituting, and begin to create a stable life. She has all of the credentials to aid these women, since she once walked in their shoes; while city officials declared her ill-equipped to pursue her dream, Norma remained undeterred.

"It came down to this. I will do this and make a difference, or I'll commit suicide. It's just that simple and just that hard."

(Porras, Emery, Thompson, 107)

      Thanks to Norma's determination and holding her ground, her project is still making an impact two decades since she began . She is the epitome of a "builder". The thing that impressed me the most about her story was how she found the will to believe in herself even in such a desperate situation. It is astonishing that someone with such an unpromising future can turn her life around to make it something greatly meaningful. I believe there is a lesson to be learned here: no matter the circumstances, everyone is capable of accomplishing anything they can dream of, if they only believe  in themselves.

     While reading about the Mesopotamian versus Egyptian attitudes towards death, it became clear that the two cultures were extremely different in their views. The Mesopotamian premise on mortality seems pessimistic in comparison to the Egyptians belief in an afterlife. The epic story of Gilgamesh describes a man desperately trying to avoid death, a fate he was unsuccessful in deterring. He did learn, however, that even if a man cannot live forever, they can be eternally immortalized in the memories of the living. Gilgamesh was dead, never to rise again (Kramer, 100). In stark contrast to the Mesopotamian feelings towards death, the Egyptian culture fully embraces the idea. It appears as though they look forward to the day that their souls may finally cross over to the afterlife. Their elaborate pyramids, tombs, mummies, funerary writings, along with the Egyptian Book of the Dead further support this theory (Kramer, 100). The legend of Isis and Osiris tells the story of a faithful wife trying to ressurrect her husband, murdered at the hands of their jealous brother, Seth. Isis was successful in bringing him back to life once, but Seth quickly learned of Osiris' revival and quickly cut him into fourteen pieces to be scattered around the Earth. Isis' second attempt to restore her lover did not go as she had hoped. Although he was reborn for the second time, Osirise now belonged below the earth, in the Nether World. Judging by the differences between Mesopotamian and Egyptian views on death and immortality, the Egyptian belief of an afterlife is more appealing to me. I would much rather believe that there is something to look forward to, than feel all is lost once you die except the memory of your existence.

     People have been trying to make sense of heaven and hell for as long as time itself. Typically, heaven has been viewed as a superior place to end up in relation to hell. George Santayana proclaims that heaven consists of "frankly material ideals", a place where fish, milk, cakes, and ales are provided for the worthy inhabitants (Enright, 171).  Enright responds to this assumption: "this all sounds suspiciously like the kind of behaviour that leads to people being sent to hell" (Enright, 171). This leads me to wonder; if there is in fact a heaven, is it a place where deserving souls are finally allowed to indulge themselves in their "sinful" desires while viewing hell from a safe distance, or do the people who are lucky enough to be welcome there follow the same rules they were encouraged to while residing on Earth? Personally, I would hope that as a reward for a life filled with good intentions, one would be allowed to enjoy all the splendors heaven might have to offer.

"Here are cakes for thy body,

cool water for thy throat,

sweet breezes for thy nostrils,

and thou are satisfied."

'The Other World', The Egytian Book of the Dead c. 3300

(Enright, 176)

Works Cited

Enright, D.J. The Oxford Book of Death. Oxford [Oxfordshire: Oxford UP, 1983. Print.

Kramer, Kenneth Paul. The Sacred Art of Dying.: How World Religions Understand Death. NewYork,  NY [u.a.: Paulist Pr., 1988. Print.

Porras, Jerry L. Stewart, Emery and Mark Thompson. Success Built to Last: Creating a LifeThat            Matters. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Pub., 2007. Print.