Meeting the Mentor
“What if we can’t find the courage to accept our call to adventure?” I asked.
“Then the call will go unanswered until you do,” said Iman. “Some of you may never find it as evidenced by the stagnation and compromises you see in your society today.”
“And those that do?”
“Those that do will realize that when you answer the call, there is always someone there to guide you on your way,” said Yewell. “Joseph Campbell called it the Meeting of a Mentor, and if you look at the myriad of myths you hail as hero stories, you will see it evidenced time and again.”
“Luke Skywalker had Obi Wan Kenobi,” said Iman.
“The Karate Kid had Mr. Miyagi,” said Yewell.
“Frodo had Gandalf.”
“Arthur had Merlin.”
“Neo had Morpheus.”
“And you will have this guy,” Yewell said as he nodded toward one of the benches.
I looked and saw myself prostrate on the ground. A man in his forties knelt down beside me holding a cane.
“Who is that?” I said.
“That,” Iman said, “is your mentor, though you don’t realize it yet.”
“You actually won’t realize it for awhile now,” Yewell added. “You’re a little slow in the uptake sometimes.”
“Why am I on the ground?”
“An unfortunate side effect of the mind meld,” Iman shrugged. “We’ll go ahead and blame that for your lagging perception as well.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said. “So what’s he going to mentor me in?”
“Let’s just save that as a surprise,” Yewell said.
“Suffice it to say that David has quite a bit of insight that you’re going to need in your journey,” said Iman. “That is the role of the mentor- not only to give you information that you don’t have, but also to draw out information that you do have, but have forgotten.”
“Which is quite a lot in your case,” Yewell added.
“I thought you guys were my mentors. You kind of fit the bill.”
“Life offers many adventures,” said Iman, “and just as many mentors. The further along you get, the more you realize that everybody’s got something to teach you.”
