I died; before I was alive it was a choice.
I made it mine, made up my mind.
I chose a grin for smiling, picked out a skin for
living in.
I was a force, I saw a path, it had a heart and I don’t look back.

You don’t know jack about the hero’s journey. The knowledge of this journey has offered me peace of mind now that I have ventured off into the “real world.” I learned about the hero’s journey as a junior in high school and since then I’ve come across multiple versions, all encompassing the same basic concepts. This adapted version of the hero’s journey has eight steps and it outlines an individual’s expedition through their stages of accomplishments.

The first stage, I’ve noticed, is The Call, where the hero is summoned by an outside force to accept a relevant journey. The next step is The Separation, in which the person accepts the call and ventures away from the ordinary life. After the separation the hero crosses The Threshold, the point of no return, if you will, where they begin to face multiple Challenges. Upon facing these challenges, the hero undergoes a continuous transformation that develops throughout the rest of the journey. Amongst the challenges, the hero will inevitably find themselves at their lowest of all lows. This stage is called The Abyss. And if the hero can manage to find their way through the abyss, they will find themselves at the most fulfilling stage of the journey, The Revelation. At this point, most of the journey is complete. But before the journey is through, the hero must still achieve Atonement, where they come to accept their new self and fully appreciate the changes they have undergone. In doing so, the hero will be able to face The Return to ordinary life and apply the knowledge gained during the revelation to their present and their future. The two main steps that I’d like to focus on are the abyss, and the revelation, because I feel as though these two steps are most prominent in my life currently. These two steps arrive after you have traveled through and overcome the many challenges that wait along your path. Just when you think you’ve had all you can take and you’re running low on energy and will power, you must face the toughest challenge yet…whatever that may be for you. This is called the abyss.

The abyss is the stage where your darkest fears take shape, and you must face them head on. You are completely alone and all you have with you are the lessons and experiences you’ve taken away from life thus far. It’s the time where you must let your old self go and become one with the adventure. You can picture a knight battling a dragon in a cave…or whatever it is you fear most in life. The symbolism of the abyss and the endurance that’s required to overcome it is the valuable piece of knowledge to take away from this. Everyone has had to overcome challenges in their lives and we’ve always been told never to give up on what we believe in. Even in the most desperate of times we must learn to hold strong to our values and our morals regardless of the circumstances. In doing so, the abyss can be overcome. It’s not supposed to be something that comes easily. It’s supposed to be the most challenging and demanding stage of our journey. But, in overcoming the abyss you move forward to the most rewarding and fulfilling stage of the hero’s journey: the revelation.

The revelation is the moment at which you fully understand your journey and what you’ve been struggling for. Although it may never be exactly how you pictured it, the revelation is a moment of rebirth. It’s the final stage of a transformation where you allow your old self to die and a new self to be born. Symbolically this represents a moment where your views on life and yourself dramatically change in an instant. But at this point in your adventure you’re ready for the change and you welcome it with open arms. In my experiences specifically, the ultimate revelation comes with the death of the ego and the rebirth of the soul and the consciousness. When you face challenges along this hero’s journey you will come to find that the qualities of an ego will be of no help to you. The revelation comes at a time only after you’ve let the ego die.

We go through dramatic hero’s journeys, and we go through smaller scale, everyday hero’s journeys. Both can be met with the same mentality. Endurance is key. No matter the depth of the abyss we can never forget that we must be persistent. We’ve got to be prepared to face challenges in life because absolutely nothing worth accomplishing comes easy. I remind myself of this lesson on a daily basis because it aids in overcoming the everyday struggles. It reminds me of what a privilege it is to have good friends and family in life to help you along the way. Most importantly of all it shines light on the power of the individual and builds confidence in a person to overcome odds and accomplish greatness.

By Jack Matranga

Categorized | Blogs, You Don't Know Jack

Tags | accomplish greatness, eight steps, Hero’s Journey, individual’s expedition, Jack Matranga, overcome odds, stages of accomplishments, The abyss, The revelation