Not heroes, just humans

Helping Friendly Newsletter, 07.19.24

Every other Friday, I share 5 things to consider. On the Fridays between, I mix things up. This is a Friday between.

GM ☕️

I’m back from vacation. Did I miss anything?

jk—and woof.

I too feel the weight of this election and am grieving our violence. Most days, I cycle between checking my phone, feeling disempowered, manic discernment, more scrolling, getting overwhelmed, and, gratefully

sensing, again and again, a quiet call to compassion.

Does the situation demand more—firm answers, perhaps? Good solutions and a magic wand? I wish I had those, truly. I understand that love is a verb¹ and compassion is fierce,² but I also worry that heart-work is painstakingly slow. Sometimes, I want a more practical assignment.

However, that quiet call persists.

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I’ve been thinking about Joseph Campbell’s archetypal framework for storytelling and myth, The Hero’s Journey:

Graphic by Alchemy of Thought.

Campbell developed the framework in 1949, and it has been applied, interpreted, and re-conceived ever since. The archetype provides a skeleton for many screenplays, stories, and books. There is more than one heroine’s journey.³ And you know I love both the healing journey and the seeker’s journey. Most recently, I became smitten with “Supreme Ordeal,” artist Nicole Eisenman’s interpretation of the creative journey:⁴

Nicole Eisenman, Hero’s Journey, 2024, via Artsy and Mason Currey.

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Could this classic framework also illuminate a path of compassion?

I have questions:

Why is something so lovely also extremely daunting?

Why do we get so lost? What gets us through?

How in the world will we add love to this high drama, high stakes election?

Keep reading for enlarged type.

The journey begins with a Call to Adventure, which we, being stuck in our ways, will question and try to refuse. The universe does its nudging thing, and off we go. (It sounds tidy, but this can take some time.)

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Crossing the Threshold of Adventure (yeehaw!), we exit our comfort zone and enter the Realm of Everything Else.

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Promptly, we find ourselves on the Road of Trials, with its many temptations and tribulations. It is no wonder we are stressed.

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Fortunately, we have the assistance of magical helpers!

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But, eventually, we hit rock bottom.

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Finally, something gives. It just has to, you know? Letting go is a revelation, and it tips us into full transformation. The miracle is evidenced by ✨doing the thing✨ and renewed peace of mind.

(Remember we’re moving clockwise.)

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At last, we are free to trek back over the threshold. We return home to enjoy the fruits of our calling and some well-earned rest.

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And then we do it all again.

Not heroes, just humans.

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Thank you for reading! This newsletter is a labor of love. 💌 To support it, you can upgrade to a paid subscription (coming this month!), share this post, or engage my services. You can learn more about my work at jenniferlphillips.com.

Peace,

Jenny

P.S. July 20, 2024 (tomorrow) is the first entry in Lauren Olamina’s Earthseed diary, the centerpiece of Octavia Butler’s 1993 dystopian classic, Parable of the Sower. If you’re looking for your next read, this may be a sign. ✨

1. See bell hooks: “We would all love better if we used it as a verb.”

2. See Chris Germer: “Sometimes yang compassion needs to be fierce.”

3. These aren’t meant to be gender-conforming. The heroine models were developed to incorporate research on the arc of women’s stories—whereas the hero’s journey comes from Campbell’s research, which focused on men’s stories. See also, Sharon Blackie’s “The Post-Heroic Journey.”

4. Via

Mason Currey

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