The Hero's Journey, according to Joseph Campbell, is a common cross-cultural myth. The slayer is death, the mid-valley of the journey, with nowhere to return but to the source of Being; transformation means having shed a layer or two after responding to the call of adventure to bring through the Gift of the Goddess. A creative desire brings about the Soul's journey, where energy transmutation means taking what was before and creating anew. The energies don't ever change, but the perception of the onlooking hero tells the story of this magnanimous adventure. Self-determination is the key driving force behind every person’s story.
Inclusion is the ability to focus one's will on the finer details, where segregation is eliminated. Manipulation is the false belief that one has arrived at the party better outfitted than anyone else, with the yoga body to prove it. In the hero's journey, the false self is revealed. Evaporative efforts to reclaim one's eternal nature through modern ideals become exhaustive. The plan never agreed with one's limited nature, yet men have suffered by that nature. In suffering, one surrenders the little ego for a greater plan.
I exhaled as I stood watching a large pillar of smoke arise from Pulga, CA, a town 10 miles north of Concow, where I lived. I walked towards the smoke column a few feet, hoping for a better view. I planned to go to work. My plan didn't work. What worked was an escape route to a whole new life. This life includes more togetherness, ongoing support, and tenderness—a better way to live. My house, my home, and my community were lost in the fire. In place of this, a greater plan manifested than the little one I had in mind that day.
Comments