The Vision Quest of Jesus Part 3: The Hero's Journey

 

1.    Jesus' time in the desert can also be called the Hero’s Journey.  This Journey is an unconscious Life-Path that all of us follow.  It follows a certain pattern:

a.      A summary of the Hero’s Journey:

One receives a Call to leave one’s familiar surroundings, venture out into the world and “fight dragons,” and returns to back home to share wisdom. 

1)      The Call is a specific purpose, a specific mission. 

2)      Fighting Dragons is a metaphor for encountering opposition, hardship and resistance to the Call.   Along the way we receive different gifts, that is, talents, which will help us on our Journey.  Problem solving and decision making are the “two-edged sword” that we use to “fight dragons.”

3)      Returning home to share wisdom means that we share our gifts, talents, experiences and experiential knowledge of the Journey with others.  It is a time to “give back” to the community in which we dwell rather than “take from”it.   It is a time to leave behind, after we die, a legacy.   As Steven Covey says, our life mission is to live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy.  One may also include another element: “to laugh;” that is, to enjoy and be light-hearted and have fun on our Journey.

b.      Another summary of the Hero’s Journey is:

1)      Preparation: we receive a specific Call, a specific Mission to leave our familiar surroundings and journey out into the world to fulfill this Mission.  This Preparation includes being fully equipped to journey outward.

2)      The Journey itself: we pursue our Mission and encounter hardships, opposition and resistance along the way.

3)      Return: we return back to our community to share wisdom.

 

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