In The Power of
Myth, an interview with Bill Moyers, Joseph Campbell, a respected American
mythologist, stated that:
“We have not even to risk the[hero’s] adventure
alone; for the heroes of all time have one before us, the labyrinth is fully
known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero-path. And where we had
thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to
slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward,
we shall come to the center of our own existence; where we had thought to be
alone, we shall be with all the world.”
I find his wisdom very comforting. Everything that
will be done has been done before. But it’s much more than that. It’s the
guidance of heroes from centuries past, the accumulation of the hero’s story
that lead us through our own trials. The journey of a hero, through the descent
into the metaphorical or literal abyss to emerging transformed, has been taken
by many people in the past and will assuredly be taken in the future. We follow
the path of all previous heroes and all future heroes. The path is well known
through myth and legend and in following the well worn trail we leave the realm
of the comfortable known world into the unknown, into a realm of discovery. Where
we thought a monster dwelled in the dark of ignorance the divine is discovered through
the enlightenment that comes from physical or self exploration. Where we
thought destroy a monster (the unknown) we really had to destroy our old self
to allow the new, changed you to immerge. Like Shiva having to destroy the old
to create the new, the good kind of destruction. Dance on your ignorance and
revel in your transformed better-educated state. Where we though the journey was
purely to defeat a monster in a foreign land it was really the internal journey
of self discover. And where we thought to be alone, traveling party of one, the
journey was really with every hero there ever was and every hero there will be.
Learning is a state of enlightenment; the hero’s journey is the process of
connecting to the collective conscious of the universe.
We all have been or are on a hero’s journey, traveling
through transformation from child to adult, from old to new. So for me it’s
nice to know the terror that comes from the unknown has been faced down many
times and many people have emerged the better for it. Though sacrifices are
part of a hero’s journey, the sacrifice of your old self for the new doesn’t
seem so bad when the new will be superior. The seed is spilt open to make a fragrant
bloom; the caterpillar must give up his happy leaf-munching life to be able to
fly. It’s comporting for me to know I’m not entering the abyss alone and through
I may miss the sweet crunchy leaves of this existence, the view of a tree from
the bright blue sky is more than worth the sacrifice.
I loved the way you wrote this post, especially the ending with the caterpillar/butterfly example. Your reference to Shiva was also well-placed and emphasized your point nicely. In the first paragraph, you say "Everything that will be done has been done before... It’s the guidance of heroes from centuries past, the accumulation of the hero’s story that lead us through our own trials." Do you see this as a literal everything has been done, or a general 'someone has done something similar?' Are we fated to repeat our ancestors' actions exactly, or just be heavily guided by them?
ReplyDeleteThis is a solid post. It is well-written and packed with interesting metaphor, but I tend to disagree with the overall theme. Personally, and this is just my opinion, I don't place as much importance as the human being as you. Your post indicates that each person embarks on a hero's journey during his/her life. But, if each person is a hero, then isn't no one a hero? A Hero is someone unique who does something revolutionary. We can follow what they do, but the idea that we are all heroes seems false. But again, that's just my opinion.
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