Re-Enchantment

The Post Heroic Journey is about the stories we would tell to ourselves and to other people if we thought that our purpose in life, our reason for being here, was neither to save nor destroy the world but actually to learn to live more beautifully in the world that we have, more meaningfully, more richly, more sustainably.

Sharon Blackie

I am on a voyage of discovery.  Just as my desire to hibernate in the winter might actually be a 'thing', so too, it turns out, is the feeling I had when Jodie Whittaker was cast as Dr Who.  

Uh-oh! I can feel the hackles rising - so I'll be quick to point out that I'm more than happy for Dr Who to be a woman, I do think it is hugely important for both girls and boys to see female role models, and, as I've never watched an episode with her in it, has absolutely nothing to do with her take on the role - instead it is a sense that whilst making some very valid points, it is missing some too.  I want more for women than to be cast in the roles previously played by men, like Dr Who and the sometimes rumoured James Bond, in other words - traditional hero roles - and actually I want more for men too, and this, I learned last Saturday, is what is known as the Post Heroic Journey.

I should at this point, like to point out, that all week I have had Richard Burton's dulcet tones interrupting my tinnitus with a particular line from the beginning of War of the Worlds "...and minds immeasurably superior to ours" or in this case mine.  I am, on the strength of a one hour Zoom call and 15 minute TEDx talk in the presence of writer, mythologist and psychologist Dr Sharon Blackie, not going to be able to speak with any authority on this, nor for that matter on any of the subjects that come up on Thrutopia, but I'm hoping I can pass on the gist of what I've heard.  

Which, in this case, is that the heroic stories of saving the world are not actually doing us any favours: we need to move away from the sense of individual glory and towards a sense of responsibility, belonging and entanglement with the planet.  It is no longer about slaying the dragon, but about inviting the dragon to be part of the team, its fire giving breath being seen as a most useful asset and welcome contribution to the collective skill set.  To get political just for a moment, be more Jacinda Ardern less Boris Johnson.  (The fact that the female example does not come from our own political system is of no surprise, nor should you be surprised if that topic arises over the course of the next six months.)

I have gained an insight into impact of the the work of Joseph Campbell who, through this book The Hero's Journey, managed to change the narrative of the contribution of women to the stories we base our cultural mythology on, because by and large he discounted them.  Gone is their wisdom, their compassion, their connection with the more than human world, their sitting and weaving and holding of space, the power of their collective counsel.  And, it should be noted that gone too is the value of men who aren't driven by the need for greatness.

That, by adopting his view of the hero, Hollywood, television and authors have given us stories of progress and heroism, which are not presented as a story underpinning our cultural mythology -  something over which we have choice - but as a depiction of how the world is. This works for the wealthy and powerful, but does little for those less well off not to mention the animals we are driving into extinction.

The invitation from Blackie - if the myth that is underpinning our culture is failing, let's transform it.

One by one we need to reimagine stories that help us fall in love with the world all over again, because, to quote Blackie "The stories which re-enchant us, which re-enchant our children, which re-enchant the world are the stories which help us re-imagine ourselves and our children and the world."

And the best people to kick start that transformation? The ones who don't fit with the current norm.  The me's of this world!  I have battled for so long with my lack of career, of status, of recognisable label with which to present myself in company, whilst knowing that deep down there was a level of disconnect that could not be reconciled by conforming to what was expected of me.  I am what Dr Blackie likes to refer to as a 'mythical misfit' and the feelings that I've tussled with for so long? Turns out they're a 'thing' too.

The Mythic Imagination  TEDx talk with Dr Sharon Blackie