The Journey of Life

A signpost for the sojourner

Introduction

Have you ever gone hiking through the woods? Or running through an airport? I bet there were signposts along the way letting you know that you were (or were not) on the right track.

Signs are amazing! While they do not tell you where you are going, they tell you where you are. It remains up to us to know our own motivation and direction, but I am thankful for our predecessors who had the decency to set up signposts.

One of those signposts is the Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell in 1949. This signpost is a method of storytelling. In fact, it has been used by nearly every story in the last 100 years. According to Campbell, it has been used for 1000s of years before that describing each of our culture’s mythologies.

Mythology is a way to bring our mundane lives a little magic, and help us through hard times. Because, as commonplace as our lives are, pain and discomfort inevitably lace our journey. Like a natural cycle of seasons, the purpose of the hero’s journey is to cleanse out the old in the hero and bring out the good for the hero and the rest of the world.

Now, you will have to determine where you are going in life, but the following sign post is a great way to determine where you are along that journey, and better yet, hint at what is coming next.

Use the Hero’s Journey model for your next life conflict and I’ll bet that with one degree of separation, you can see your own journey in a whole new light, gain some insight and more importantly, continue on with dignity and grace.

The Signposts

The ordinary world means “all is well” and mundane. We establish where we are at, who were are and what we want. Two great questions to ask at this stage is about you, the hero, “what do I like about myself” and “what is my flaw, fear and folly?” It is important to identify what part of you needs redemption, but it is also important to endear yourself, otherwise, you become the villain in your own story.

The call to adventure comes as an interruption. Sometimes this is a dramatic presentation of a problem and sometimes it is a growing nudge that something is not right with the world. Either way, a good question to ask is simply, “What am I being called to do?” The call may not be the end goal, but it is the next right thing.

The next stage means the hero always refuses the call, usually because of the fear, flaw or folly. Now, in some cases, the hero goes into the adventure headlong with naivete, not knowing the cost. Either way, the hero MUST have a choice. You must choose to embark because if you don’t, you will blame your journey upon fate alone and become the victim. A good question to ask is “what choice do I have?” or “what happens if I don’t embark on this quest?”

Next, you always meet a mentor! This is one of my favorite stages, because help is on the way, no matter how dark the road becomes. Keep in mind that the mentor may be a person who has been where you are going, or it might be a higher ideal. The mentor stands as a fixed star along your journey, but does not do the journey for you. Ask yourself, “who in my life provides guidance in the right direction?”

Finally, we cross the threshold. This is the farthest from comfort you have ever been and many turn back at this point. But if you remember the fear, flaw or folly, and all the support the mentor provides. And if you remember you still have a choice, then the next step belongs to you. You leave the familiar and comfort of the known world and enter into the unknown. Ask yourself, “what is the point of no return along this journey?”

The next phase of the journey progresses no longer in the ordinary world, but the strange world. Now the hero faces a series of tests, learns the rules of the strange world, meets allies and makes enemies. A great question to ask during this phase is “how are these trials getting me closer to completing the quest?”

Now we have the approach to the inner most cave. This means that after the hero faced tests, setbacks and challenges of the strange world that now the hero has a moment to regroup and strategize before encountering the crisis. This is a good moment to ask, “why do I still care about completing the quest?” as you review your motivation. Also, this is a usual spot where the stakes are raised, further highlighting the hero’s resolve.

Finally - we encounter the ordeal. This is also called crisis in action. This is the moment where the hero finally faces the final challenge in front of the reward - the reason they embarked on the quest. The ordeal answers the dramatic question, “what do I want?” However, the first encounter with the major conflict does not usually end in total success. A loss or sacrifice may occur to propel the hero to the next stage, and in the least, the hero becomes broken and at the lowest point only to rise from the ashes with nothing but righteous resolve.

Now many people forget this stage - the reward. We came, we saw, we conquered and we then forget to claim our reward. I think this is mostly because we have a relationship with struggle as some kind of reward in of itself #struggleisreal However, I propose that the struggle, while teaching us lessons, only leads to the reward and we should keep our vision in that direction. A great question to ask is “what is my reward for embarking on this journey?”

A turning point occurs at this stage - the road back. And like crossing the threshold, this is a turn from one world into the other. In this case, the hero returns to the ordinary world - but not the same person! A great question to ask in this stage is “now that I have journeyed, struggled, overcome and won the prize, how can I reintegrate everything I have learned back in my home world?”

The resurrection is the final act of the journey. Even after the trials, the prime conflict, there is still one more work to be done. Remember the fear, flaw and folly of the hero? That still needs to be purged - because the entire point of the journey is change. This final crucible burns away the part of the hero not worthy to return to the ordinary world as a hero. Ask yourself now, “how has the journey transformed me?” This could possibly be the moment of total death and rebirth of the hero.

Emerging from death, the hero returns to the ordinary world, but this time, with an elixer in hand. This elixer represents the lessons learned, the wisdom, the knowledge, the change that the hero presents to the ordinary world. The reason we write down the journey of a hero is because, even after all their trials, they share their lessons with the world. The generous spirit prevails. “What can I share with the world now that my journey is complete?”

And thus ends the story, but not really. Imagine this circle rotating every time the hero makes a choice to change. See how it spirals up and up, like coils on a spring, ascending along with the hero - new heights, new depths, new lessons to learn. The hero sojourns.

I hope you can take this model and apply it to your own life. Whatever challenge you face, I hope you take the path of a hero and return to us with a life changing message. And as always, may your story continue.