What is the Hero's Journey?

Today we discussed the Hero(ine)'s Journey.

This journey is one which is trying almost beyond reason, however, it is very necessary for the development, survival, and sanity of the hero(ine). Let's read about exactly what this battle entails.

1. Separation (from the known)
1. It is one thing for someone to thrive in an area where he or she is comfortable, but what about in unfamiliar territory. It is there that you find the true test of a person's ability.
   
2. For a more personal or familiar example think about the neighborhood basketball court or the basketball hoop in your yard. No one can shoot on that court better than you because you shoot on it all the time. With that in mind, remember that it takes a highly skilled athlete to out score someone on the other person's goal.
   
3. Yet it is this very phenomenon that a hero(ine) must experience if he or she is to become great. A hero(ine) must be able to excel not just where he or she is comfortable, but must be able to perform in any arena.
   
2. The Call
1. First of all, what is a call? What is the function? Is it a demand or a request? Does the person that you call have to answer positively or can they just chill?
   
2. This part of the journey requires a hero(ine) to answer the call for help, for surely that is the only and basic/essential reason that you call upon a super hero(ine). When all hope is lost and you have done all that you can do then you light up the Bat signal.
3. The messed up part about this is that at any time, whether you are in a nice warm bath after a tough day, sitting at the dinner table with the family, in the middle of a 360 sports game, or downloading music onto your PSP, you must answer the call because a hero(ine) is supposed to be selfless (thinking only about others) and not selfish (thinking only about one's self).
4. "The Call" is both a blessing and a curse because it verifies your quality or merit as a superhero(ine), but at the same time it strips away all hope of ever having a normal life where you can chill and relax for a reasonable time period everyday.
   
3. The Threshold (with guardians, helpers, and mentor)
1. It is at this point that hero(ine) must cross a point of no return and he or she understands once and for all that he or she can never go back to the life that was lead previously.
   
2. Similarly in a marriage, when the husband carries the wife over the threshold the statement made is that we two are together as one and we claim this place as ours, a place where we will build a new life together. From this point onward we are pledged to love one another and work together for the good of US and nothing else.
3. This is the true beginning of the journey, though it is number three.
   
4. Initiation and Transformation
1. This step in the journey ensures that the hero(ine) is ready to start. It is a "baptism by fire". Meaning that the hero(ine) learns quickly that he or she is bound to face problems, pain, and peril in their new life.
   
2. Often times this initiation comes in the form of a great personal loss, Uncle Ben's death in Spiderman, or Mr. and Mrs Wayne's (Bruce Wayne's parents) in Batman. This secures empathy for the society or people whom the hero(ine) protects. It's a lot harder to ignore a siren, crime, or cry for help when you know what it means to have been in need of being saved.
3. It is after this initiation that the hero(ine) accepts his or her fate and embraces their new identity, becoming the hero(ine) once and for all.
   
5. The Challenges
1. OF course now the hero(ine) must now face his or her arch enemy, but it goes deeper than that. A hero(ine) must also do battle with the demons or problems within. These issues are more combative, harder to perceive, and even harder to engage.
   
2. Another very difficult problem for the hero(ine) to surmount is the battle that is within. When does he or she stop caring about the people that need saving and start caring about his or her personal needs. After all, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." I bet you didn't know that is where this phrase originates from!?
   
6. The Abyss
1. This is the point at which our beloved hero(ine) is at the lowest possible point. He or she has experienced some temporary seemingly insurmountable failure and now it seems is on the verge or failure.
   
2. This low point or valley is also experienced by the people or society that the hero(ine) serves.
   
3. However, the one good point about being in the abyss, is that you can only go up, because if you survive here, then you must eventually arise.
4. PHYSICAL ABYSS OF THE EARTH IS CALLED THE MARIANAS TRENCH.
   
   
   
7. The Transformation
1. Now at this step in the journey the hero(ine) makes their final change and accepts their fate as a suffering servant. I introduce that link because one must understand that this idea or concept of a hero is derived and perfected in the life and story of Jesus Christ.
   
8. The Revelation
1. The revelation that the hero(ine) then experiences is understanding and acceptance of what he or she must do to not only keep the people or society he or she has been entrusted with safe from peril, but he or she also figures out exactly how he or she must live and behave in order to also be in harmony with his or herself. This revelation is priceless to the hero(ine) and provides him or her with the means to continue the fight against evil as long as he or she may live.
   
9. The Atonement
1. The atonement is the righting of wrongs. One must always remember, that is Superman, Batman, or Spiderman takes a day off, for whatever reason, then things get crazy and the bad guys would do whatever they wanted to do, with no fear or thought of ever being caught by the helplessly inept officers that ever so poorly police the city.
   
2. OR, for instance if the hero(ine) refuses the call then he or she must make some sacrifice to make right the wrongs that he or she either caused or didn't solve as a result of procrastination or denial.
   
10. The Return
1. This final step of course takes place when the hero(ine) returns to the physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual place where this "EPIC" (pun) journey began bringing back either something tangible like a cure, money, or some other form of goods, or something even better an intangible quality like a new found pride, respect, dignity, maturity, or existence that would have never been achieved had it not been for the hero's journey. (Yes, corny, but you will get over it. :-) Thanks!)