The Hero’s Journey and the Act of Creation
I watched as the man they called David helped me up and onto the bench. Though I knew I’d never met him before, there was something familiar about him, a sort of connection that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“That feeling you have is quite common,” said Yewell, again reading my thoughts, “though often overlooked. In many of your myths, the meeting of a mentor is regarded as supernatural.”
“Like Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother,” said Iman.
“He seems familiar,” I said, “but I don’t know if I’d call it supernatural.”
“This coming from the guy talking to aliens in his head,” said Yewell. “And just what do you consider supernatural?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Like ghosts and the paranormal and stuff.”
“Isn’t it natural for two people to meet and create a connection?” said Iman.
“Yes.”
“And when that connection is felt before they have met, would that not be supernatural?”
“I suppose,” I said.
“In actuality,” said Yewell,” the entire premise of the hero’s journey is supernatural.”
“How do you figure?”
“Because it is a continuation of the creation story,” he said. “It is creating something that was not there before.”
“The creation story?” I said. “I thought it was a call to adventure. Now it’s a call to creation?”
“That is the adventure,” said Iman. “As you answer the call to the hero’s journey, you begin to become something that you were not previously. You create a new being, a new world for yourself.”
I looked to see myself hobble off with the man they called David.
“What you are doing there,” Yewell said, “and what you are doing here is taking part in the process of creation because you are on your way to becoming something that does not yet exist. You as a hero does not exist. Because it does not exist, you are creating it.”
“The act of creation,” said Iman, “consists of giving your energy to the world, of simply doing, simply, being. Think about your creation story, the one you were raised on.”
“God made the world in seven days,” I said. “What’s that have to do with…”
“Before that,” interrupted Yewell. “Before that the world was a void. There was nothing. Out of that nothing, all things were created.”
“And continue to be created,” added Iman.
“The easiest thing for any of you to do,” said Yewell,” is nothing because nothing is your natural state.”
“But by answering the call to the hero’s journey,” said Iman, “by doing something, creating something, be it a work of art, or a relationship, an insight, or an element of progress, you are giving your energy to the world. That is the First Threshold – to do something.”
“And if we don’t cross the threshold?” I asked.
“Then the void remains,” said Yewell. “Creation is about being and non-being. If you do not become what you are capable of, then you do not become what you are capable of. It is as simple as that. To be or not to be. The call is there. It is always there asking you to bring light to the darkness. That is the process of creation.”
“That is why each of you was imbued with the desire to populate the earth, not only with offspring but with ideas, insights, inventions, and connections. Each of you is an offshoot of that Intelligence which first brought light to the world. It is your mission to continue the process. You are called to be light bearers.”
