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Mighty Myth Month: Blood, sweat and tears

Blood sweat tears

Blood, sweat, and tears–three bodily fluids that represent our lives, efforts, and emotions.

If you review any resource on mythology and simply search for “blood” you will discover almost 200 findings. Mixing these three together creates a powerful potion. It is our primordial soup.

Origin myths use these three elements for the emulsifier of many a great beginning:

The first living thing was P’an Ku. He evolved inside a gigantic cosmic egg, which contained all the elements of the universe totally intermixed together. P’an Ku grew by about 10 feet each day. As he grew he separated the earth and the Sky within the egg. At the same time he gradually separated the many opposites in nature male and female, wet and dry, light and dark, wet and dry, Yin and Yang. These were all originally totally commingled in the egg. While he grew he also created the first humans. After 18,000 years the egg hatched and P’an Ku died from the effort of creation. From his eyes the sun and moon appeared, from his sweat, rain and dew, from his voice, thunder, and from his body all the natural features of the earth arose.

 “Creation myths.” Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online.
<http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/creation_myths.html>
[Accessed January 17, 2010].

So, it wasn’t which came first, the chicken or the egg, it was P’an Ku.

The combination of the words, “blood, sweat, and tears” is also an idiom for something that requires monumental effort, but is usually worth it at the end. There is a battle, there is exertion, and there is heartbreak/disappointment, but all of these sacrifices will be rewarded. But you don’t have to cry about it.