Since I have defined this blog as an “almanac”, it would be only logical to start my first post, “This Journey of Mine”, with a serious description and a suitable Polaroid photo:
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”
In his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell says that all the mythological stories that people have read for thousands of years can be summarized with this one sentence. The heroes are called on an adventure, they overcome obstacles, and come back from this adventure; changed and grown. A character is called to destroy a ring, overcomes obstacles, grows and returns; another character is summoned to travel across the space to save humanity, helps unravel the secret of black holes and return his home more mature. This theory shows itself in many stories, but what makes me embrace this theory is something different.
The main reason for me to embrace “the hero’s journey” theory is that the theory is not limited to stories or books. The obstacles and developments faced by the protagonist are also found in our lives. The hero described in the theory is actually anyone of us. People wake up in the morning, carry out the responsibilities of their ordinary world, and even though it goes unnoticed, every single one of them is called on an adventure, be it the most insignificant or the most dangerous one. The person tries to drink some water, tries to catch the bus, wants to teach his student, or stops the world from burning. Regardless, there is always an adventure, and according to our theory where there is adventure, there is an obstacle. This is a requirement for our protagonist.
Obstacles materialize whenever they meet a hero. They change form, become more rebellious, even stubborn, but they are always there. Here, the most crucial part of the hero’s journey theory comes into play.
What will our heroes do when they encounter this obstacle?
Some are able to overcome these obstacles, some are trying to overcome it, and some are turning back as soon as they see it. It is easy to analyze others actions as an outsider, just take a step back without getting lost in the plot.
But, can we do the same analysis while looking at ourselves through the mirror. As someone who constantly tries to improve himself, perhaps, I have always ignored looking at my analysis. It is easy to examine stories of other people, it is easy to understand their obstacles and their actions. But, what are my obstacles? What do I need to overcome? I couldn’t find the answer for these questions, and it made me understand how big this was a problem.
My search for an answer led me to turn the theory upside down. If there are no obstacles that I was facing, there will be no developments. If there are no developments, what am I, can I be considered a hero? Eventually, what difference is there between me and a robot that does the same daily job as me?
After a long exchange of ideas, I realized that I actually found my obstacle. Perhaps this obstacle was what would help me have a journey. My obstacle was “not being able to find my obstacles”. The journey starts here. The phenomenon that would make me feel alive and help me understand myself was to search for my own obstacles. Let’s see, maybe I will feel that I have really grown up once I overcome them.
Let’s start this journey of mine.