I always have a hard time starting…well almost anything really. Once I am warmed up, prepared, ready, I am good. That goes for conversations, activities, challenges. To start something new always seems so difficult, sometimes almost seems impossible and then it is underway and I wonder why it seemed so hard to begin.
Years ago, in the middle of therapy that felt painful and overwhelming and never ending, I discovered and fell in love with the archetype of the Hero’s Journey. Last year recovery felt like a long way away again, not at all achievable. A kind counsellor reminded me agin of this idea and I grabbed like a lifesaver. And maybe it was. It is often so hard to untangle the different threads of possible pathways that weave through our lives. Who knows where one story or thought begins, and ends.
I do know that once I remembered the concept of the Hero’s Journey, it re-inspired me, it gave me strength and reminded me that I had experienced seemingly impossible tasks before and I had achieved them, not just achieved them, but overcome them. Also being a gamer and a D&D player from way back, it just made good sense and I had a lot of beautiful imagery in my imagination to go with my stories. Success was possible.
I remember also from last time, that I was not quite the same person afterwards as when I started. I had become, transformed, changed into something I wasn’t before. I was strengthened but softer, reinforced but more flexible, aged but younger at heart. I had grasped the Hero’s Journey concept as a better way to look at grieving and repairing and it transformed me in a way I didn’t expect.
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