Joseph Campbell is one of my favorite authors. For those of you not familiar with him, he was a Mythologist, Sociologist, and avid Mentor of the 20th Century. He even influenced the writing of Star Wars with his works on the evolution of myth and society, and specifically his book about the journey of a Hero.
The basic premise to this journey begins with a person (or at least some cognitive being). Not yet a hero, this individual must accept the fact that they must change (though they might not see it as a change so much as a challenge) and thus begin a journey. Next, the protagonist goes forth to meet various challenges, gets some "gifts" from others along the way to help them, and ends up - at the end - a changed person. A Hero.
If you look throughout the history of oral and written mythological traditions of all peoples, you will find journeys of heros of all ages, genders, abilities, and sometimes of non-humans. You will find the same messages repeated through each story: acceptance, sacrifice, education, acknowledgement, goal achievements, and rebirth. It is this same exact process through which we all live, grow, and become in our own lives that is the beauty of these tales. And, like sharing our own stories with each other as we sometimes do, we can learn and be empowered by each others journey.
The thing is, throughout our lives, we take many mini journeys. In my line of work, I am blessed to be able to work with many people who are embarking on such trips to change themselves mentally, physically, and emotionally. Some of them have been trying their current journey for years, but something has kept them from making it through to the end, and so they come to my program for help.
I like to explain the process using the 12 Steps from Anonymous recovery programs, in part because the only way anyone can become a real Hero is to make lifelong changes that they continue to work through forever - and not just for a few weeks or months. Now, I know when I say 12 Step a lot of you think Alcoholics Anonymous - but that's not the only kind of recovery program, nor is it the only Anonymous meeting out there. There are meetings for every problem under the sun, and even for friends and family of people with problems they need help to solve - but the basic premise is the same: to give a guideline for change, and models the Journey of A Hero.
In brief, I will consolidate and summarize the Steps:
Step One: ACCEPTANCE that you have a problem you need help to fix, and SACRIFICE of whatever has held you back from getting help. This step is VITAL because no one can do it for you, make you do it, or desire the outcome more than you.
Step Two: Taking inventory of all your problems, what you want to change, and then gaining the EDUCATION and support you need to change the ones you can. Set measurable GOALS, and then put your change to action to ACHIEVE those goals.
Step Three: Realizing it's not weakness but strength to get help, and then forgiving yourself and asking others to forgive you for any harm your problems caused. This is the REBIRTH of you into a more resilient person who has more strength, humility, and wisdom to continue to grow.
Step Four: Continuing a commitment to stick with the changes and to continue to look for and change more problems as they arise, as well as sharing your changes with others as a peer and later a mentor.
My main message for this post: use this model whenever you realize you want to change something in your life. Take a journey, and know that it will not be easy, but it will be worth it. And, SHARE your story - whether it's as you go, or after the fact. Your journey is just as vital to the larger tapestry of our global society as the greatest Journey of A Hero ever told.
No comments:
Post a Comment