The Hero’s Journey – Video

Joseph Campbell’s model, The Hero’s Journey, reminds us that the idea is not to create heaven on earth.

That is where we came from (figuratively) and that to which we will return. The idea is to live a very full, rich and perfectly human experience. To have a very earthly experience.

To love imperfectly and messily and foolishly and bravely. To leap and fall. To leap and land on both feet and yell, “TA-DA!!!”

To hurt and cry and melt into the arms of the one who comforts us in our sorrow.

To experience the full spectrum of trials and tribulations that are meant for us and from which we learn and grow and mature.

Not one of us would be the dynamic, layered, complex and fascinating people that we all are if it weren’t for the hiccups and outright failures and troubles that have shaped us along the way.

So, why do we suffer with the clinging to the notion that our challenges and troubles are outright bad and undesirable experiences to be avoided at all costs?

I screw up often. Daily to some degree. Sometimes in very small transgressions. Other times in epic fails.

If I am truly to love myself for who I am today, then I have to love and appreciate every step of the journey that has brought me here, and every step to come. Even the steps that land me smack in that pile of shit I didn’t see coming.

To be an alive human is a gift. And all the experiences that comes with this being human are a part of that gift and a part of the price.