This week’s focus was on the Hero’s Journey.

What is a hero?

According to Joseph Campbell, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”

Christopher Reeve defined a hero as “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a hero as:
1. a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability
2. an illustrious warrior
3. a person admired for achievements and noble qualities
4. one who shows great courage

I don’t know about you but I am not a mythological or legendary figure of divine descent with great strength or ability nor am I a warrior. I struggle lifting a 40 lb. box never mind a 54 lb. box of cabbage! I also know I have difficulty solving math problems quickly or understanding English grammar rules.

However, if I’m given a creative challenge to answer the question “Are you Feminist?” and am required to write an essay and create an art project to answer the question, I guarantee I’ll create something nobody else would think to create!

The other two dictionary definitions of a hero are something that are more achievable. There have been times when I was asked to speak up for my Mexican coworkers and voice their concerns to the farm management because:
1. I’m Canadian
2. I speak English
3. I’ve been on the farm longer than most of the staff
4. The guys know I care about them and I’m trustworthy

I’ve spent years fighting for their rights even though I knew I could be fired for being so vocal.

This is not the hero I’ve been learning about this week. The hero I’ve been learning about is someone who has the courage to abandon my old way of thinking (my old blueprint) that society has indoctrinated into me since I was very young and to pursue my authentic self.

What was my old blueprint like? In the past I followed what was expected of me. I liked following the rules and unless I was fighting for others rights, I didn’t try breaking rules or standing up to authority.

I let others dominate me since I grew up in a household of three alphas. I was quite happy letting other people talk for me and most of the time, I let others dictate how I lived my life. Sadly, this way of thinking allowed me to sink into negative tendencies like depression, anxiety, pessimism, fear of the unknown, low self esteem, and a bad temper, to name a few.

I spent many years trying to abandon my negative blueprint and be more optimistic by thinking positively and looking for silver linings. I learned to refer to difficult days as “character building”. I learned to view the thick clouds engulfing the Malahat (a mountain on Vancouver Island notorious for bad accidents) as God hugging me.

Most days I’m a happy person. I have a laugh that at full volume can fill a warehouse, greenhouse, or restaurant. My laugh is audible over the cacophony of heavy machinery. People have told me my laugh makes them happy so they start laughing too!

This week I was encouraged to answer the Herald’s call and choose the Hero’s Journey. What is the Herald’s call? It is a choice to abandon my old blueprint and societal expectations that has been indoctrinated into me since I was young so I can pursue my authentic self (new positive blueprint) and follow the unknown. The Hero’s Journey is following through with this choice not because we were told to but because we want to!

What does my new blueprint look like?

My new blueprint involves true health and helping others.

What does this look like for me?

True health means being happy, energized, and relaxed. It means having normal blood sugar levels, getting daily exercise (Yoga, Pilates, brisk walking, Mind Gym), eating healthy meals (fresh salads and fruit, lots of veggie dishes, soups), drinking lots of water and herbal tea, reading positive affirmations and scripture, feeling grateful and writing in my gratitude journal and on index cards.

It also includes giving and receiving kindness, connecting with friends and family through letters, cards, emails, text messages, hugs, and laughter. Lots and lots of laughter! Some days I’m really good at following through and eating healthy, limiting sugary treats, getting exercise, being grateful, showing kindness, etc.

Other days I fall flat on my face and I revert back to my negative blueprint. On those days, I recognize what went wrong and what I need to do to fix it or let it go. Sometimes I give myself permission to experience those feelings and then let them go.

I can’t change how I was too busy, too sick, or spent too much time writing my blog so that I didn’t complete all my MKE (Master Key Experience) readings for the day or that I had a meltdown because I accidentally paid the wrong bill or left my groceries in the pushcart in the grocery store parking lot.

Nor can I change that I lost my temper with my hubby because he didn’t complete a task I asked him to do. I can however ask for forgiveness (from hubby and myself) and give myself permission to let it go. I don’t have to let it fester in me anymore because it will only continue to hurt me and damage my relationships with others.

Helping others is my dharma, my purpose in life. I like holding doors for people. I like sharing things, like food, with others. I like helping with prep work and clean-up when I help out in church or community kitchens. It’s something I grew up doing so to me, it’s normal.

My new blueprint takes helping others to a new level. My dream is to have a Fiber Collective that gives back to the community through free or inexpensive activities, free crafting supplies for children and teens, while providing a safe haven for people, especially women and girls, to learn and socialize.

To make this a reality I have been doing research online (I found out the library has some free resources on small businesses and writing a business plan), reading books on how to run a small business, saving money every week, and listening to my friend, who is a fiber artist, when she gives her suggestions on what to do and not do to run a fiber business. I’m learning a lot but I know I still have a lot more I need to learn to make this a reality.

So what does this have to do with being a hero?

I am being courageous abandoning what was familiar and pursuing a new adventure to find my authentic self and a new outreach venture. It hasn’t been an easy journey and I’m a long way from the final result, but I’m up to the challenge to face the unknown because I know persistence and laughter are my superpowers!