August 5, 2011--"Legend Quest." The quest itself MUST be the Grail.

So, over the last several weeks, I have been watching the Syfy show "Legend Quest." I started watching it, because I'm a total nerd. I love history, the supernatural and anything that involves a mystery. This show finds its perfect target in me.

Archeological explorer, Ashely Cowie gallivants to all corners of the world looking for legendary objects and places that may not even exist. So far, he's looked for the Ark of the Covenant, Excalibur and the staff of Moses--just to name a few. Ashely Cowie never finds any of these things.

I don't know what Cowie's qualifications are, with the possible exception of blaring exuberance and a Scottish accent. I've stopped watching it with my husband, because throughout the hour-long episodes, there's only one qualification Jeph pronounces him to have--that of being a complete tool. As I watch each episode and reach the end with Cowie failing to produce the item he sought, I ask myself--why do I bother? As previously noted, I'm a nerd, and I love the concept! And when it comes down to it, I think the reason any of us watches shows like these is because we all dream of finding that prize. I think shows like "Legend Quest" may shine a light on something bigger.

How many thousands of "legendary" objects and mysterious places are hidden out there? For every one I know about, I'm sure there are a thousand more. These legends and mysteries are symbols of something intangible that we are trying to make tangible. What's lost in these quests isn't any object or place, it's our knowledge of self and purpose. We don't realize that we don't need to find the Holy Grail, Excalibur, King Arthur's bones or the Garden of Eden. We only need to find ourselves.

Another of my favorite shows of all time was "Pinky and the Brain." It was an animated series depicting two mice--one whose dedicated purpose was to take over the world, and the other to serve his friend. They failed at every scheme the Brain plotted, usually through some clumsy misstep of Pinky's. But at the end of each episode, when they discussed their plans for the following day, the Brain never lost focus. His intent was still to do "the same thing we do every night, Pinky, try to take over the world." While I'm sure the Brain really did believe he wanted to take over the world, it was the pursuit of doing so that gave his life purpose.

Last night, we went to see "Cowboys and Aliens" with friends. Being the nerds that we are, how could we possibly pass up a movie twisting the cowboy and alien movie genres? The story is set in a small mining town that hasn't lived up to the gold-prospecting hopes its settlers came for. It turns out that the settlers aren't the only ones looking for gold. Through the course of battling the aliens to retrieve family and friends that have been abducted, Harrison Ford's character has a couple of revelations. He realizes, too late, that the young Native American working for him is in essence the son he has always wanted, and the quest for gold and wealth has only alienated him from his shiftless and wayward son that he has lost. He has been seeking the wrong things, and protecting things that have no meaning. Daniel Craig's character has forgotten who he was, and in the process of regaining his memory, comes to understand who he was meant to be, and what the pursuit of "shiny things" has cost him.

I know everything I've talked about so far has had more than just the ring of fiction and absurdity. "Legend Quest," "Pinky and the Brain," and "Cowboys and Aliens" are all designed to be entertainment. But there are any number of more "credible" shows and resources dealing with questing. I can't even tick off all of the shows on the History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic and the like that have similar pursuits. Some of the shows on these channels have a tendency to bear more fruit than "Legend Quest," but even the more reputable "questers" often fall short.

One would think that after such highly publicized and televised failures, these explorers and questers would lose hope and just go home to play Dungeons and Dragons with their compatriots.

What are you looking for? Is the quest to find it filling your life with stimulation, excitement and motivation? If the quest never bears fruit, will you feel cheated? I think it's up to all of us, nerd or not, to understand the purpose of searching for the great prize and the mysterious legendary object. Your life, and the quest for it is the true Grail.

At the end of the rope, in the bottom of the cave, hanging just above waters that haven't been seen for thousands of years, and just to the left of the Templar Cross, the thing we should really be trying to find is who we are, and who we wish to be.

http://youtu.be/Zb4dIvomCwI

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