A Hero's Welcome
"Once upon a time," we say when a new story crosses our lips. We pull them out of the void and share them with each other as a way of sharing understanding and important information. We convey much to each other through the medium of Myth. We teach each other about love, honesty, depravity, cold-heartedness, sensitivity, levity, humor, lust, ambition, level-headedness, sensibility, humility, all of the great human attributes, and their lowly counterparts.
We do this because we believe it is right and necessary. The next generation must know what we have learned, and they in turn, will pass on what they are learning now. The succession of knowledge passed from one hand to the next, across the millenniums, across all cultures, lands us here today where we stand right now. And where is that?
It is right smack dab in the middle of “nowhere.” Yes, nowhere! Why? Because, we lost something along the way. We lost our connection to the human spirit. When we lose sight of death, we lose sight of Life. We cannot understand one without an appreciation of the other. And life is only Life when death is in the balance. Otherwise, we are topsy turvey, turned upside down and without a rudder. Simply put, we are lost! And that is where we are right now. We have no rudder and we are scrambling to find our way out of the chaos.
Drugs, alcohol, gambling, and so many other addictive substances / activities have been the road well traveled by many. Love and hate play themselves out regularly in this theatre. Love and hate are those classic themes of myth and poetry. They get all tangled up in this arena, because they are substitutes for something. “For what,” you ask? For an “informed life” is what!
An “informed life” is filled with Spirit, with meaning and direction. Addiction means loss, ineptitude, dissatisfaction and fear – lots of fear. And when there’s so much fear about, then we feel we must numb out. Numbing appears as the only way when spirit is not available. But then this is where a healing journey can begin, one that leads back to spirit, of course. All healing journeys lead back to spirit, or “home,” if you please.
All healing journeys are “quests.” They represent the quest of the hero to be precise, one that is played out in a new format, a new millennium format which we will call the “path of recovery.” This is it in our modern times. The hero’s journey is the “healing journey,” and millions of people are on it worldwide. They are twelve stepping, reviving themselves in seminars, looking for truer ground through therapy or group work, seeking their inner self while venturing forth into the darkness of their existence. This is a true heroic journey. And who said we couldn’t find a living, breathing myth in today’s culture?
This is the path of the wounded man and the wounded woman, the traumatized child, the confused adolescent, the abandoned wife. There are so many variations you can’t count them. But are they heroic? Ah, yes – they are truly so – heroic indeed! There is no doubt of that. Just ask someone who is on the path, one who has traveled some distance there and has disabled some of their more formidable demons. Ah yes, the path of “heroism” is clearly in evidence today.
Shopping malls are filled with people on a heroic adventure. “How’s that,” you say? They are filled with people in search of themselves, looking for something that will make them bolder, braver, stronger, more willing to confront Life. But these malls are also filled with numbness.
The same adventurers who are seeking the fame and fortune of their “truest selves” are crossing paths with people who are avoiding Life while filling themselves with food, or clothes, or some other distraction, hoping for a miracle to fill their empty hearts. Hearts that could be filled with spirit are instead, filling themselves with haberdashery, the goods and services of 1001 merchants eager to please an aching population.
Interesting places these malls are. Not so long ago they were stuffed with camel drivers and silk traders. Tomorrow, or next week, you’ll pick up your dry cleaning just before setting off to the moon for that long awaited weekend getaway.
What does this have to do with heroes and heroines? They are born here in these hallowed malls of industry and commerce. They are born here because, inevitably, wherever people gather is where one confronts themselves – whatever you see in them is a mirror to your own Self.
All persons are mirrors to each other, and malls offer the largest, most multifaceted mirrors of all. They are today’s watering holes, town plazas, bazaars etc. They are the sine qua non of human existence, offering a glimpse of every possible reality you can imagine. From the poorest to the richest, from the gross to the sublime, with every possible variation in between. You can imagine just about anything in these malls and it, he or she will likely show up. Just try it sometime and see for yourself. See what you can learn about You!
For now we will limit ourselves to this mirroring aspect. This is where heroic journeys begin. Somewhere, somehow, something has to strike you, has to reflect something about your life, of course. And usually that jolt of recognition will take place in the mirroring eyes of another. All eyes are mirrors, to your soul and to theirs.
Oh, don’t you worry; they are looking at you for the same reason, to see what you can teach them about themselves. Then there is reciprocity, a give and take, which is the nature of Life. There is no giving without receiving. All cycles have their counterpoints which keep them in balance. As soon as you know this, you’ve got something. An important fundamental fact, that the Earth is an ever expanding, ever evolving series of cycles, points and counterpoints, played out in the macrocosm and microcosm, in your life and mine.
Yes, we interrelate, like it nor not, we all affect each other in some imperceptible way. But nevertheless, these are significant ways, because we are each a turn in this eternal web, and our turn sets someone else in motion and so on.
We influence each other and we need each other. We need our Selves too, in very significant fashion, more so than many of us realize. It is this lost Self we are after. That is our goal as aspiring heroes and heroines. We are on a quest, to our Selves, our real Selves, our Sacred Selves. That’s why so many of us have taken the healing journey. It is the only way back that we can find at the moment!
Maurice Turmel holds a PHD in Counseling Psychology and was a practicing therapist for nearly 25 years. Today he is a Speaker, Author and Songwriter. Spirituality, Inspiration, Motivation and Creativity are main interests. Dr. Turmel has authored The Parables series of books and a Spiritual Self-Help novel "The Voice." He has 4 CD compilations of Inspirational Blues available at: http://www.cdbaby.com/turmel
He can be reached at drmoe@mauriceturmel.com