The Apple of discord

ONCE UPON A TIME, in Mount Olympus, there were three goddesses vying for the distinction of who is "the fairest of them all." They were the most beautiful wonder women in that mythical realm. So, it was sort of beauty contest. There was a contention, and to settle it, another goddess named Discord (Eris to Greeks) threw down a golden apple to Paris. The Trojan ladies' man was instructed to act as judge and pick his choice. The one that he will present the apple will be proclaimed "Miss Fairest."

The three candidates were Minerva, Venus and Juno; or, to the Greeks - Athena, Aphrodite and Hera, in that order. Three queens on the mountain, which one will the prince of Troy bless? You guessed it, it was she with the captivating name and the statuesque figure, the epitome of the perfect female species - Venus!

This mythical lore about Discord is from where derived our terms of discord, disaccord and discordance, whichever way we use them. The idiom "apple of discord" means the cause of disharmony, disorder, dispute. The cherished feeling that Paris held towards Venus obviously made her the "apple of his eye." Thus, two idiomatic expressions were hatched here.

From that, we can allegorically claim that the first apple of discord, the one that Mr. Snake flipped towards Adam and Eve, caused everything on earth to be out of sync. A sad thing happened there when bad boy Cain, out of envy, slew the good lad Abel because he felt God was treating his brother as the "apple of His eye."

As countless as the grains of sand, as much as the "sea of troubles," the apples of discord are raining down on us every day. Only we are not fully aware of the terminology: "apple of discord." A little spat between couples ends up in pathetic falling out. An insignificant incident ignites into an uncalled-for conflict. A trivial matter cranks up something to blow out of proportion. All because things cannot face up to the impact of the apple of discord.

There is another idiom that is cousin to "apple of discord." It is "bone of contention," an allusion to the way dogs fight over a bone. So, it follows, too, that disharmony is also a consequence from the bone of contention. Like the apple of discord, bone of contention is implied as the source or reason why things go out of vibes, out of chorus, out of whack. Thus, matters concerning differences, divisiveness or controversies inevitably break out.

Apple or no apple, it is still discord. It does not strictly follow that "no bone thrown, no fight waged." Throw bone, dogs fight. Throw no bone, dogs fight. It is very distinct in the adverse circumstances of many a discordant situation or relation we come into each day, as typified in disunity, disparity, hostility, or whatever breach of congruence there is.

We cannot help it. The apples and bones just keep piling up. A total mess, a jigsaw puzzle of causes and effects, a maze of discord and contentions. If people are not in good graces, if there is no touch or getting along, if things are not on the same wavelength - then that is discord, genuine and absolute discord. We don't need to have a bone to pick with anybody.

Discord and contentions are complexities characterized by negation, dissension, contrariety, antagonism or whatever unpleasant ill effects. It is so devastating. To think it is just the mere commodities of apples and bones that we are dealing with…well…picturesquely speaking. But it is big deal. We have to contend with it. We cannot do away with it. It is here and we have to live with it.

No home is safe from descending disharmony. No relationship is cleared of rifts and misunderstanding. No individual is blessed with fullness of peace. No country is spared from war and strife. No government is free from disunity and disorder. No business is secured from enmity and competition.

Here is to illustrate some more. The oil-rich Spratlys is a tinder box of a bone of contention in the fangs of several Asian nations. Nations march to war, greedy of world domination, because this chunk of earth is their bone of contention. The Trojan War happened as a result of the apple-of-discord abduction of Helen by Paris. The discord cause? Venus had earlier promised him the most beautiful woman on earth as his prize in exchange for the beauty title. (This Paris is really quite some guy). The Americans joined the

War for the reason that a big, rotten Japanese apple of discord was thrown at them in Pearl Harbor.

From the above perspectives, we can locate the tender spots where the apples and bones are thrown. What we are experiencing are the transgressions, havoc and predicaments these complexities can certainly bring upon us. It is a continuous, dissonant and annoying encroachment upon our lives. Against it, we are ill-matched. It alienates us and messes up our sentiments of rapport, solidarity and mutuality. There is little we can do.

Reasons of war, subjects of dispute, causes of division. These problems at issue are the telltale omens of eventual catastrophic happenings. They are like the writing on the wall or a volcanic lava buildup before the eruption. What we should do is to stave them off at that point, to resort to all measures to prevent them from exploding.

We can use our head. We can talk things out. We can share the apple and the bone. Where there is war, there is peace. Where there is dispute, there is settlement. Where there is division, there is unity. And where there is discord, well, there is accord.