The Hero Path

We have only to follow the thread of the hero path.  Where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outwards, we shall come to the center of our own existence; were we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.

- Joseph Campbell, The Hero With A Thousand Faces

Direction

"For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm" Proverbs 1:32-33

Waywardness and Complacency.

Directionless and Apathy.

Sometimes aimlessness is my only direction and complacency my only drive.

I am listening.

Purpose of More

In this world, our value and sense of purpose comes in the acquisition of more. More money, more toys, a "better" job, more friends on Facebook. Yet the pursuit of more leads us on a merry-go-round of insanity; more is never enough and as a result we never feel fulfilled in our purpose. When we pursue questions of purpose and meaning we need stop looking to the promises of more and begin to empty ourselves to the point of such nakedness that we are confronted by who we really are. No societal labels, no self-made definitions, no false pretenses of who we think we are and what we think we should be doing. In this terrifying place of vulnerability our infatuation with more (cloaked in language of purpose) looses its hold on us and we become free. No longer a slave to some pre-conceived destiny that must be decoded but rather free to find in each new day the joy of life.

Life of Discontentment

Our pursuit of meaning and purpose in this world has become big business. Go to any bookstore and spend time looking through the "Self-help" aisle and you will find books on how to achieve "Your Best Life Now", how to live a "Purpose Driven Life", and what it takes to get "From Good to Great".

Many of these books are written by pastors trying to encourage "ordinary people" to step out of whatever "rut" they may find themselves in and become "extraordinary human beings". While these books may have their place I'm wondering if they do more to perpetuate feelings of discontentment than actually help an individual live a full life in relationship to God within the parameters of their current reality.

We spend time frustrated that we want more out of life in such a way that it pushes us further and further into to future. "When my life reaches a certain point then I will be satisfied". As a culture have we become so future focused that we can only feel despair in the present? In our "future focus" orientation are we missing out on what his happening around us now?

Within the self pursuit of purpose we are not only removed further and further from the present, but we are propelled further and further into a sense of hyper-individualism: "When will I be satisfied?" "How can my life find meaning?"

The Scriptures speak of a God that is continually relating to his people (plural) in the present; trying to shape them in an understanding of what it means to be a people of God in the midst of their current situation (even if that situation seems to lack significance or meaning). What does this mean for those that may be discontent with their present situation? How can one better listen and be shaped by God and find meaning and purpose today?

Unique Meaning ("Man's Search For Meaning" pt. 2)

As human beings we are on a continual search for puropse and "the meaning of life". Victor Frankl writes that in one's pursuit of an over-arching meaning of life on a grand scale, we miss the meaning that is found in the day to day, hour to hour.

"What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment...Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life to carry out a concrete assignment which demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus, everyone's task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it."

When the fullness of what Frankl writes hits us, we will find great tragedy and loss with those who "wander" this life. For it is not merely "their loss", but ours...the community's loss of a unique contribution in which they were designed to make.

It becomes all of our responsibility to foster within our self, but even more, one another, the pursuit of that uniqueness, that in the discovery of that meaning "whole" might greatly benefit.