Answering The Call - The Hero’s Journey

Unique Perspectives: Answering The Call - The Hero’s Journey

By Kim Stevens

These are pretty much (verbatim) the thoughts that ran through my head in early 2008 when my life had hit an inexplicably new low:

I can’t live this way. 

I’m going to die.

My relationship was a disaster. My finances were a disaster. I was diagnosed with stage III cancer. I couldn’t live the way I was living anymore. I was meant for more.

In Joseph Campbell speak, this would be the start of my hero’s journey. It’s “The Call” to adventure. The choice to answer The Call and begin the journey or not is up to me. 

I often refer to this as a “moment of clarity.” There was some perfect storm of trouble brewing and I knew I must change. I had to follow my own starlight or else. I had to answer The Call. And when I did, I got supernatural aid by way of helpers, mentors and inspiration. Almost immediately, life-altering sign posts appeared, illuminating the road ahead as I traversed uncertain terrain far beyond my comfort zone. 

No journey is perfect and there were inevitably challenges and temptations to deal with, but I was always able to overcome those once I set my path. Turning back was not an option. Yes, it was scary to keep going forward but I refused to go backward. I’d reached a decision point from which there is no return.

My friend Margy always says: “Once we start moving in another direction, you won’t believe how the Universe really starts to help us.” 

And Joseph Campbell explains: “Follow your bliss and the Universe will open doors where there were only walls.” Even better, these doors would not have opened for anyone else. 

By answering the call, I propel myself into another dimension of existence. And it’s SO exciting! The change this creates, the momentum this produces takes me from that dark “I can’t live this way, I’m going to die” place into a place of enlightenment, higher consciousness and awakening. In going through the hero’s journey, I discover a greater expression of myself.