As James Hillman says, "The soul has its own ancestors", which is to say it has its own agenda. So the Call will come again, perhaps to a new generation. But it will come.
The question is: will we leave it to another generation to clean up the mess we've made? Or as one reader questioned last time: "Are we of the journey?" Buddha instructed us to "be in the world, but not of it". Perhaps "Are you of the journey?"is the question for these times.
We must be willing to get rid of
the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us.
The old skin has to be shed
before the new one can come.
Joseph Campbell
The outcome of Barack's Hero's Journey to restore the Soul of America is one for which we must all share responsibiity. We are the soul of America. He is the one we've chosen to lead us away from the abyss and guide us back to our roots.
Have we chosen well? Is he up to the task? What is our role on this journey?
Here is a simple truth: Barack can lead us, but we must do our part. What that is, is up to each of us to discover. It is not cast in stone. It dwells in possibility. But make no mistake. There is a part that each of us is meant to play in restoring the soul of our country.
Last week, in response to someone's comment, I described my vision of how the soul would look, if it were a "thing", which of course, it's not. But I thought it might look like a many faceted, mirrored ball that hangs above a ballroom floor. The ball turns and reflects the light in all directions. Each facet is unique, yet part of the whole. Each facet reflects the light from an angle that only it occupies. Together, the facets form a magnificent, brilliant, illuminated sphere.
Consider the possibility that our part is to be the brilliant Beings we came to be. The Hero's journey we each take is what polishes us, it's what turns us into the gems we're meant to be. Just as a diamond begins as carbon atoms and is formed through extreme heat and pressure in the darkness deep within the Earth, the fire of the Hero's Journey transforms us, burning away what doesn't serve, leaving its ashes as the compost from which new life begins.
Our part is to be willing to do the work and not shy away. In so doing, we polish. Our job is to polish. Chop wood, carry water, polish.
And then, there is Barack's Part.
Barack Obama: Dark Knight of the Soul
How perfect is it that America, in its "dark night of the soul" is being led by its first "Dark Knight"? Kind of like Batman! Barack was a Marvel comic book fan as a child and I see they're already publishing an edition of him teaming up with Spider-Man.
True to the mythic hero narrative, Barack arrives on the scene, just in the nick of time to help us sort through the wreckage wrought by the ignorance and indifference of the past eight years. His task is to sift through the ashes of greed and corruption and the arrogance of power so that we might once again find and reconnect with the core truths that define who we are as a nation and as a people.
Hillary Clinton was right. Our Dark Knight has been preparing for this journey since the day he was born. Only she meant it like a slam. From an archetypal perspective, her mockery of him spoke to the very core of Obama's mission, only she spoke without wisdom or reverence for the task itself. I'm referencing it as an essential part of the mythic journey of Obama and how he came to be given this task of reclaiming and restoring the soul of his country.
It all makes sense when viewed from this perspective. This seeming impossibility of his presidency did come down like the Red Seas parting. The stars (both Hollywood and Celestial) lined up for this. Hillary declared this during the campaign in the form of mockery. Yet perhaps unbeknown to her, she spoke a certain truth.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
