Where are you in your hero's journey?
Many of us, at some point in life ask this question: what is life? Personally, I like that there's no fundamental answer. It keeps the mystery alive, and that's what I love most about life: mystery. It’s what has kept me moving forward with zest and curiosity.
But then, there came a moment when I stumbled into the world of depth psychology and found a clue to the question: The Hero's Journey. This framework was proposed by Joseph Campbell, who discovered a narrative arc embedded in all the great mythologies of the world. Today, Campbell's book The Hero with a Thousand Faces can be found on the bookshelf of most filmmakers.
The more I saw this pattern in stories and films, the more I saw it unfolding in my own life. I began to see myself like Luke Skywalker from Star Wars and Dorothy Gale from the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—a hero(ine) on a grand adventure.
Ever since deepening into this subject, the "answer" to the question: what is life? has become not just mysterious, but numinous. Numinous describes the feeling you get when you encounter something that’s mysterious, awe-inspiring, and deeply spiritual—like you’ve brushed up against something bigger than yourself, something sacred you can’t quite explain.
So let me ask you: when was the last time you encountered this kind of numinous feeling? Reflect back, and you may find a hint as to where you are on your own hero's journey.
I leave you with these famous words from Campbell: follow your bliss.
In Mystery,
Somya Desai