So This Is the Hero’s Journey?

April 11th, 2010 | Personal

In his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell writes that the first element of The Hero's Journey is the Call to Adventure: the call comes from a crisis the hero must choose to face or run from.

I don't know about you, but when I hear Call to Adventure, I think of a task that involves swash-buckling and dragon-slaying. Perhaps Psyche had similar thoughts as she embarked on her hero's journey, a journey that would require Psyche to complete four tasks in order to be united with her beloved Eros.

Imagine her surprise when she learned her first task was to sort a huge jumble of corn, barley and poppy seeds into separate piles.

Psyche you are going on a journey; you are going to get Eros back.

Ready, Set…

Sort the seeds.

Seeds_psyche
Source: istockphoto

Was there a point to this? Or was the task simply meant to demean and humiliate her?

What of bravery and derring-do?

At face value, the task does seem pointless.

But as Psyche completed this task, she no doubt came to understand that knowing how to sift through priorities, to delegate to and trust the ants of her intuition, would hold her in good stead as she completed the remaining three tasks.

Practicing making choices around seemingly mundane priorities may not feel like the ideal way to start our hero's journey, to dare to dream, but the more I consider Psyche's journey, and my own, I'm beginning to think it's the best way.

What are your thoughts?

For those of you who have dreamed of being a mother and rearing happy children, how did that journey begin? With your children going off to college? Or lots of twenty-four hour care, changing diapers and sleepless nights?

Or what of launching a career? Are you immediately calling the shots, moving things forward? Or doing lots of grunt work and working long hours?

Making and Owning Our Choices

November 1st, 2009 | Personal

The following post is dedicated to my daughter Miranda on her 9th birthday.

***
On my daughter's 8th birthday she was baptized into our church. It was a wonderful day for our family, a milestone within our family's religious tradition, a day she described “as the most important day of her life thus far”. In addition (and as part of) its religious significance, this day marked Miranda's willingness to make and own her choices.

Miranda is in the center with friends A on the left and E on the right.

Here's some of what I learned as Miranda prepared for this milestone day:

Allowing our children to own their choices makes their dreaming less of a dare
Miranda chose where and when she'd be baptized, who she wanted to baptize and confirm her (dad and Aaron Hutchins), who would speak (Jen Riddle and Kristy Richards), sing (Sara, Emma and Anna), play the piano (me), pray (her brother and Jeff), and what kind of food she wanted (Swedish cake, cherry cake, and cheesecake). It was also her job to ask the speakers to speak, the singers to sing, etc.

In the myth of Psyche, a story which outlines feminine psychological development, Psyche's first task is to sort the seeds, a task symbolic of learning to make choices and prioritize. How are our children learning to make choices and prioritize?

In not making obvious choices, our children are likely trusting their intuition
Miranda chose two people to speak that she knew, but they weren't the obvious choices. The insights of these particular speakers made the day that much more special. She also asked David to give a prayer. As he prayed that “whatever scares her will go away”, it was a tender moment. He teases her and she knows he loves her.

As Psyche sorts the seeds, the ants, symbolic of intuition, come to her aid. When was the last time you, or your children, made a choice that wasn't obvious? How did it turn out?

Photo courtesy LaNola Kathleen Stone

Be aware of the (seemingly invisible) hands that help us
Because I spend little time organizing meals, and certainly not for groups of 50 people, I was overwhelmed by the prospect of orchestrating a celebratory party. Roger (my husband) and Kathy Dunnigan had prepared food, but once we were at the church, the food needed to be served, the kitchen cleaned. Women such as Rachael, Lisle and Rebecca helped, and helped without my asking. I was and am grateful, but it would be easy to overlook their contribution to making the day what it was.

As Psyche sorts the seeds, the ants are so small, she could have discounted their role. What projects are you currently working on for which your contribution could be overlooked? In turn, who are the ants, nearly overlooked contributors, in your life?

***
What are your religious traditions? In Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist blog she writes All Career Issues are Religious Issues. Maybe. Assuming you agree with her assertion, how can a faith tradition which involves learning to make and own our choices help us achieve of our dreams?

Any other thoughts?

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So This Is the Hero’s Journey?

Making and Owning Our Choices

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