Hero's Journey

American writer and comparative mythologist, Joseph Campbell is most famous for his monomyth, The Hero’s Journey, which is, essentially, the ‘one great story of mankind.’ The Hero’s Journey is comprised of 12 steps, though writers, bloggers, and story tellers generally condense it into three: Separation, Initiation, and the Return. Within these steps there are several essential elements. When we first meet our hero (that’s me since I’m writing this), she is called to adventure. The ‘adventure,’ in this case, would be the idea for my little pillow company. She then refuses the call (who do I think I am, really?), but, eventually, must answer the call—it’s destiny after all—and then she (we’re still talking about me) crosses over the threshold into the land of Adventure.

Wittingly or not, we are all on some sort of adventure; we’re all exploring some unknown—responding to some call from the universe. The theme of the hero myth, according to Campbell, is universal, occurring in every culture, in every time; it is as infinitely varied as the human race itself; and yet its basic form remains the same.

I’ve been thinking of Campbell (a lot) during my pillow making journey, and after I crossed the threshold into this new adventure, I couldn’t help but wonder who my allies and enemies would be because they both reside in the realm of ‘Initiation’ (stage two of the journey—the lengthiest part) and are a requirement in order to apply Campbell’s theory to my story—any story for that matter. And this week I sold FOUR pillows. This feels huge to me because as I established in my previous blog, I don’t have organic eyeballs. I barely have any eyeballs. Yet, I SOLD FOUR PILLOWS. And the pillows were purchased—at full price plus shipping—by my allies. By a couple of unusual suspects. They were my friends in the real world, but not friends I thought would cross the threshold with me and buoy me on this adventure. They surprised me. And not because they’re not great and supportive friends, but because I didn’t expect it, and I love them for this because, after all, Initiation is the toughest phase of the journey.

Campbell’s philosophy has been summarized by his own oft repeated phrase: "Follow your bliss,” and my allies this week have quietly encouraged me in that very endeavor and I am grateful.

Cheers from the bright side.

Tracey