Have you ever felt this way in the morning?
I love this cartoon.
Isn't this just the way it is....here you are minding your own business, brushing your teeth in the morning when the Lady of the Lake (of the Arthurian Cycle fame) hands you Excalibur so "YOU" can go out complete the challenge to save the world.
Me: "Uh - who me....uh, I'm in the middle of sumptin' here and you want me to do what?"
Here's the thing - and this goes back to Joseph Campbell's hero cycle. First what does he mean by hero cycle or myth cycle. Well these are prototypes or formulas that myth stories all have. They are to inspire and give us hope and stamina during our struggles. Here's what Campbell found in most my stories lines:
- The Challenge Presentation: the hero (an ordinary Joe) is presented with a challenge - usually something way outside the normal Joe's capability
- The Challenge Denial: "Joe" (our prototypical hero), says: "Uh - you talkin' to me?....Uh, I think you have mistaken with someone else." Mostly denial and immediately refusing the challenge.
- The Challenge Acceptance: Joe accepts the challenge (if he doesn't, there there's another myth for the person who doesn't accept the challenge - more on that later)
- The Challenge Talisman: Joe is usually given an amulet or charm - this is in most myths and today people use things like rabbit's foot, Saint's charms that sort of thing.
- The Challenge Adventure: Now, Joe sets about his task of completing the challenge set before him. This is where he (and she - this applies just as well to women - I can testify to that!), finds out what he's made of.
- The Challenge Ending: Joe completes his task, and returns back to the "home ranch" to share his adventures and success and most of all what he's learned. This is what we pass on to the next generation and what I like to think of as mankind's eternity....animals have to learn the same thing over and over and pass on very little to the next generation - we as sentient beings, can pass on what we've learned - well, hopefully we can.
Sounds pretty complicated, but it really isn't - if you have faith. Believe it or not, faith takes you right through all of this without a hitch. And that's the truth!
The Challenge is the adventure of completing your dreams and seeing to fruition. These steps are pretty straight-forward and if they aren't followed, then you not only loose your dreams, but you also loose your way - and I mean that in the worse sense.
So go find your adventure and get involved in it!
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