Where Are You On Your Life's Journey, Heroine?

Are You Hearing A Call To Make A Change?

Moyers: …we’re not going on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves.

 

Campbell: But in doing that, you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes.

 

–Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers The Power of Myth

 

Feminine wounds are almost always cured by being still. A man, or the masculine side of a woman, generally has to take an outwardly heroic stance with his problems. Our mythology is full of the heroic man who mounts his white horse and goes galloping off to do the heroic deed, which is his way of addressing the wrongs of life. …But woman’s genius is quite the reverse.

–Robert A. Johnson, The Fisher King & The Handless Maiden

Our Past Journeys.

I think back to some of my most powerful Heroine’s Journeys (If you’re not acquainted with the steps of the Heroine’s Journey, check out the Journey map.) and I will tell you, there have been many. When I stepped into the unknown during each of these adventures, they were filled with the risks, trials, and tests that every Journey involves. But I made it through. Now, I can look back and reaffirm that each one was exactly what I needed to do; each Journey played a significant part in shaping me into the strong, (mostly) confident woman I am today. (Maybe after a few more Journeys, I can remove the “mostly” from that sentence! I’m still growing!)

Because I dared to venture outside my comfort zone, my life is now much richer and more multi-dimensional. The thirty-five-year-old version of me, who, with such trepidation, told her husband that she wanted a divorce, seems like someone from a different life. But she is me, and looking back, I love her dearly and feel great compassion for her. I find that reflecting on our past journeys helps us to recall and appreciate the gifts we’ve received, but perhaps just as important is that it fosters more compassion for ourselves. 

Reflect on your life and you'll see the leaps you've taken in response to the call of the journey—the journey to become your true self. These leaps will stand out like beacons to you; symbols of your courage and as a woman who listens to and respects her own inner voice. 

We’ll need that compassion for the selves we are today, in case we forget what we’ve already accomplished as we stand with one foot hesitating over a new threshold. Are you possibly doubting that you can do what your current call is asking you to do? Please! Remember those leaps you’ve taken and how they made you into the heroine you are today.

And I wonder...

I wonder if our individual acts of leaping somehow contribute to the greater whole—supporting all women. I’m also reflecting on our deeper connection as women. Maybe the more we honor our intuition, the more we believe in it, trust it, value it, and respond to it—building our inner guidance systems—the more we all rise together and our collective power grows exponentially.

In my book, You Are a Heroine: A Retelling of the Hero’s Journey, I share the stories of three remarkable women: Pamela, Maureen, and Lisa. They offer these insights to inspire us all:

Meet Pamela

“There is a need to understand that none of us are victims of our circumstances; we are victims of what we think of as our circumstances. That is the one thing we can change: the way we look at things. I have learned that no amount of trying can change the past, but I can change the way the past affects me by changing the way I view it. Today I am a teapot who can give to others while remaining filled to the brim with strength and my own sense of personal power.”

Meet Maureen

“It is in the action that we discover ourselves. It doesn’t have to be huge actions, it can be small actions…courage isn’t something we are born with. Courage is earned and it’s something that we get by acting. It’s like we build our courage muscle and in doing so, we learn more about ourselves and our authentic and true selves. We also gain an understanding and are able to move with our authentic power.”

Meet Lisa

“I was agonizing over decisions, thinking ‘What do I want to do?’ And then finally there was a moment when I knew. And it was a quiet moment when I was contemplating the very next step I was going to take and then I just knew what I needed to do. I’ve learned there is actually a value in not doing anything for certain periods of time. So that’s what I mean by stillness; to actually be able to hear your inner voice.”

Living The Heroine's Journey.

Pamela, Maureen, and Lisa exemplify women who consciously live the Heroine’s Journey and benefit from its wisdom. Listen to their voices and the resonating message of The Heroine’s Journey:

•  The one thing we can change is the way we look at things. We can view our lives from a different perspective, through a much broader lens: that of the Heroine’s Journey.
•  Courage is earned; it’s something that we get by taking action. We have to answer the Call and make the Leap.
•  There is value in not doing anything and being still for certain periods of time. The answers are within you if you can just find solitude, get quiet, and listen.

You’ve heard this wisdom before, maybe from your women friends, your mother, a grandmother, or aunt—when you go to them with a problem. This is collective wisdom gained from taking the Journey, helping to guide us when we choose to answer our Calls.

How Do We Find Bravery?

Bravery is necessary if you’re going to do the inner work, the work that reveals Dragons, the work that every Heroine must undertake on her Journey. Meet your Dragons, get to know them, and heal whatever caused their existence. This is the inner work that requires courage. Some people would rather go into physical battle than explore what’s happening within their own mind, but this is the work that ensures our actions are right for us. 

There is no single best way to travel your heroine’s path. We will experience unique Calls, and what we need to do to cross the Threshold will differ for each of us. For some women, the next big step is to conquer the world of business, politics, or social causes—riding in on their own chargers and making their mark. For others, it might be the opposite. It could involve stepping back from the world for a while to find their bearings.

Focusing On Ourselves Is What’s Truly Needed.

We’re experts at caring for others, but to reconnect with our own vital spark, we must turn inward. This has never been easy for women, but we need to begin there with compassion. Once we do, we’ll be best positioned to connect with the brilliance of our feminine nature to find our unique ways to heal our psychological wounds, which will also help mend the cultural and ecological scars of our planet. As women—just as our ancient ancestors and indigenous peoples believed (and still believe)—we are the planet. We are Mother Earth. When we aren’t nourished and cared for, everything suffers. The way we treat ourselves and each other is a reflection of how we care for the planet. 

So, let’s consider us women as a whole—where are we on the Heroine’s Journey?

Are we in the Belly of the Whale?

Are we floundering in the abyss, about to face our collective Dragon?

What Has Been Our Ordinary Life?

For thousands of years, we have been the aid and support of our male partners. We want to be that support, many of us do, but we also feel the Call to become more. We’ve been hearing this Call for some time. The Threshold Guardians have been very active. We’ve had many tell us to step back. Many of us feel threatened as we leave our comfort zones. The people around us and our own thoughts within have warned us: Women, you can’t have it all. You thought you could, but you can’t. You can be the helpless maiden, not the powerful queen. These voices have left us with many questions: What is our role? Do we lean in or do we step back?

I believe we are on the edge of forming a new paradigm—a new myth—for women. We are no longer just the caretakers of the home that we once were. We are not only the female counterpart to men in the workplace. We are both of those roles and more. 

So, What Does Our New Myth Look Like?

I'm not exactly sure. 

We need to develop it together. We must understand our Heroine’s Journey stories and share them with each other. What I truly believe is that we will discover our new feminine myth in our own unique way, rather than through the traditional, more masculine “figuring it out” approach. It will come to us through those same inner currents that give us our best music, poetry, art, and literature. 

This poem says it for me:

Clearing by Martha Postlethwaite

 

Do not try to save the whole world

Or do anything grandiose.

Instead, created a blearing in the dense forest of your life

And wait there patiently until the song that is your life

Falls into your own cupped hands and you recognize and greet it.

Only then will you know how to give yourself to this world

So worthy of rescue.

 

When We Are Ready, We Need To Trust Ourselves.

We already know what to do. We can go “into the dense forest of your life” and find a way to get quiet and connect to our own wisdom. We can start listening to what our own intuition is telling us. And then we’ll hear our Call. We will know “how to give yourself to this world.” The path will make itself visible again, and we’ll emerge strong, with hands and hearts ready to take us on our next journey.

We possess a wealth of wisdom within and access to abundant collective feminine wisdom around us. We must have faith in ourselves. Additionally, we need to believe that there is value not only in having our voices heard but also in sharing our stories and finding our way—together. 

The Heroine’s Journey Serves As A Map For This.

Yes, we'll encounter Dragons, but every Dragon we meet and understand will help us grow in knowledge and strength. We'll need to leap across Thresholds without knowing what’s on the other side. There will be fear and trembling, but each leap brings us closer to discovering what we need to get through the Belly of the Whale, in order to be reborn, cast into a new role as women thriving in today’s world—whatever that may look like. Then, we’ll continue our journey, petting our newly befriended Dragons along the way, crossing the Return Threshold where we’ll gather our hard-earned Gifts and share them with the world. 

Yes, we can heal our collective wounds or stuck places, our Dragons. This is our job as Heroines: to grow into our full potential. This is ultimately what will save the world. As Campbell told Bill Moyers, “a vital person vitalizes.” Every Heroine brings that vitality into the world. That’s what I recognize as the Sacred Feminine.

The Hero and Heroine stories hold real-life truths. The answers are inside you. You don’t need a white steed or a sword. You need quiet time in your life to hear and access what you already know. Don’t look outward. Look inward. 

Once It’s Clear What You’re Being Called To Do, Take Heart!

Know that you’re supported by all the Heroines who have done the same and leapt over that Threshold. It’s what Heroines do.

We are The Heroine with A Thousand Faces. Our faces are different, and each of us has our own unique value, but we walk the same road; sharing the same Journey. Heroines are needed now more than ever. Share your story with other Heroines. Let’s create a groundswell of women remembering who they truly are. Now you know that if you’ve left your comfort and safety behind and are walking the Road of Adventure, you are most certainly a Heroine.