The Hero with a Thousand Faces

 The title of this blog is also a great book by Joseph Campbell. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is interested in History as told thru Stories. And the history of stories. I will be touching on many of the same themes that Campbell covered in his book, probably much better than I. The difference being I will be talking about us today from a very personal perspective.

In the book what Joseph talks about is the Hero's Journey. And if you want a great example of all the elements of a Hero's Journey then watch the original three Star Wars movies. "A New Hope", "The Empire Strikes Back", and "Return of the Jedi". That is a standard Hero's Journey straight out of Joseph Campbell.

For me, I think we all have to possibility within us of a Hero's Journey in our lives. I believe that every life has at least some of the elements of a Hero' Journey within it. In Campbells work he breaks it down into three sections and each has multiple sections under it.

As listed they are:

Part 1: Departure

The Ordinary World: The hero is introduced in their normal environment, establishing their status quo and flaws.
The Call to Adventure: A disruption or challenge shoves the hero out of their comfort zone.
Refusal of the Call: The hero hesitates or shows fear, doubting their ability to take on the challenge.
Meeting the Mentor: The hero meets a guide or figure who provides training, equipment, or advice to help them on the journey.
Crossing the First Threshold: The hero fully commits to the journey by stepping into the unfamiliar "Special World".

Part 2: Initiation

Tests, Allies, and Enemies: The hero adjusts to the new world, faces minor challenges, and gathers a supporting team.
Approach to the Inmost Cave: The hero and their allies prepare for the major challenge and face the darkest, most dangerous location in the Special World.
The Ordeal: The hero faces their greatest fear or central obstacle, experiencing a "death" and rebirth that proves their growth.
The Reward (Seizing the Sword): Having survived the ordeal, the hero takes possession of their hard-earned prize (a magic weapon, secret, or knowledge).

Part 3: Return

The Road Back: The hero must deal with the consequences of the Ordeal and make the choice to return to the Ordinary World.
The Resurrection: The hero faces one last, severe test that challenges everything they've learned, proving they can apply their transformation in the real world.
Return with the Elixir: The hero returns to the Ordinary World transformed, bringing the "elixir" (wisdom, healing, or treasure) that they can use to help their community.

Departure. For me it is apparent that we all have those times where we depart our ordinary world. Where we look around, or are guided by some person, place, or event, to see beyond our own horizon. I also find that for most of us we have been refusing the call for a while. Whatever that call is. And then we get the disruption, whatever that is, that says that we must deal with this situation. That there is no more avoiding it. So choose. Some choose to stay where they are and their Hero's Journey is over. Some choose to go on the journey and see what happens. And a mentor of some form or another is why most of the people who choose the journey are successful. I know for me that without a mentor, IE Sponsor, Guide, I could not have made or continue to make the journey. And, after a while, I fully committed to the journey. And have been on it ever since.

Initiation. We now enter the stage of the journey where we must adjust to the new world we are in. We are not thru the journey yet. And the world we inhabit is no longer the world we were in. And we face challenges as we adjust to this world that is not where we started and not yet where we want to be. And, unless we are complete sociopaths, which I do not believe one can be to go on a journey like this, we gather allies. AKA a support team. To take journeys like this we are, at this stage in need of a team around us who, even if they do not understand the journey they support us on that journey. The approach to the most dangerous part of this new world was, for me, the journey thru my own way of being in this world to understand what to transform and what to keep as is. And my resistance to transforming was in direct proportion to the pain level of transforming. My greatest fear is always the unknown. And while my current form may be unworkable it is a known quantity. Who am I without this? And then we get the secret knowledge, the knowledge of self, which transforms the person and the world so that one will never be the same again. And the knowing that this is also a journey that will last the rest of the life that I have.

Return. And here is where it gets real fun. We get to be the person we could not be before. We must allow the world to see us in all of our flawed glory as we are. And in that we are challenged to be even more instead of standing still. For there is always more. And thus we have the magic elixir and bring it to the world and allow them to see it. And thus make this available to all who want it.

In Campbell's book he talked about how this is the archetype. That every society has stories that fit into this pattern. Because this is a Human Story. Thus the title of the book, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". Because every Hero wears a different face in a different society and yet is essentially the same.

I also think that every Human Beings are on a Hero's Journey at various times in their life. Although it may not appear to the outside world as such.

One example that sticks for me is a line from a song called Unsteady by X Ambassadors. It says "Dad, I know you're trying. To fight, when you feel like flying" For me that is one of the clearest examples of an invisible Hero's Journey. Showing up over and over again when every part of you wants to run. Either physically and/or emotionally. And still you stay.

Another is choosing the person beside you every day and every moment, even when you are not happy with them at all. When our throw away society says the you "deserve" better. 

And the reverse. When you choose your self and/or your children because you finally see that if you and/or they stay then everyone and everything will be destroyed in some way. So you start all over in the face of a society that never saw what you experienced and cannot believe it.

Also when we tell the truth in the face of incredible pressure from everyone to go along and get along because not telling the truth will alter who you are as a Human Being. Standing in the Reality of Truth when you are alone and afraid.

Standing with the persecuted Minority. When everything around you is geared towards shaming anyone who does so and yet you still do.

Standing in Reason and Reality when everyone around you is standing in emotion, hate and blame primarily, and Being True to Life as it Is and Is Not.

There is more of course. And they all share a distinguishing mark. Every one of them is when a person chooses To Be The Authentic Version of who they actually are. In the face of everything that says you must not be that. Yet you do.

I am reminded of some years ago a lady stood up in the Texas House and delivered a Filibuster, which was eventually procedurally defeated, against some stupid thing Texas was trying to. They have done so many in the last ten years that I remember not what it was. And she delivered this despite tremendous pressure from many people. And the battle cry of that moment became "And yet, she persisted".

It is in those moments when one is alone and growing, doing the right thing for the right reason, saying no to pressure that others are saying yes to, standing in truth when silence would be easy, that is a true Hero's Journey.

And I think that we all have the ability to Be Hero's. I believe that we all have moments in our lives when we have been Hero's.

My challenge to you, my Dear reader, is to Live every moment like a Hero. Be your most Authentic Self in every moment. Even when you do not feel like it. Or it would be easy not to be.

That is a True Hero's Journey.

Namaste 🙏