A post shared by Elephant Journal (@elephantjournal) on May 6, 2017 at 5:00pm PDT

This is Part III of a three-part series. For Part I, here. For Part II, here. ~ ed. 

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You’re not the Victim, you’re the Hero: Part III.

Ultimately, becoming the hero is about accepting and loving ourselves for who we are.

When there is no more war going on inside of us, the gap between our unlovable self and our ability to love that unlovable self begins to heal, and we remember our true power.

During the long, drawn-out breakup that sparked my own “Hero’s Journey,” and the subsequent alone time, I was distraught, but I dug deep to find out who I was and tried to learn the many lessons that were presented to me.

Because I had opened my heart so wide in this relationship, it shattered deeper than ever before. During that time, trapped wounds from my childhood began to escape, allowing new, beautiful, and healing energy to replace it. For the first time in my life, I was able to touch a place in my soul that had been holding on to deeply-trapped negative energy.

Follow Your Bliss.

“When you follow your bliss, the universe will open doors, where there were only walls.” ~ Joseph Campbell

Following our Hero’s Journey means having the courage to look within and ask ourselves, “What am I here to do?”

It’s becoming mindful and asking ourselves, “What am I most passionate about in life? What are my greatest gifts and how do I give them to the world?”

Campbell coined the phrase, “follow your bliss,” to describe this. We have to do what makes us feel most alive. This is the essence of the Hero’s Journey.

“Find a place where there is joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” ~ Joseph Campbell

After the metaphorical death of my fantasy and the slaying of some painful emotional dragons, my rebirth and healing had begun, but I was still stuck in the past, unable to see the beautiful future in front of me.

Then, something wonderful started to happen. I began to surrender to the whole process and do what Campbell suggests—I started to love my dragons. I began to work on loving myself and letting that be my focus. As that process started to take hold, I began looking for ways to help others.

I got out of my head and started to focus on what I could do to bless my fellow human beings. The magnificent universe once again put the right people in my life at the right time, and I met an amazing couple who run an incredible non-profit that helps fill the cracks of the larger non-profit and charity community through which many people fall. I offered to create mini documentaries of their non-profit and help them any way I could, and they started taking me along on serving opportunities for the hungry and homeless in our community.

I have started to follow my bliss. I have no idea where it will take me but, as Campbell points out, I feel a sense of serenity and peace. This is how I know I’m on the right path.

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” ~ Joseph Campbell

The Road Back.

Sometimes, during our journey, we will have something big and wonderful to bring back to the community. Often though, there is no big, glorious victory, there is only the story. The story is often the treasure we can share with the community so that they can make their own journeys. This is how we close the circle. We come back with something and share it.

The good news from my Hero’s Journey is that, even though we had some rocky times during our intense but wonderful relationship, we both learned a lot about love and ourselves and we’re glad to have had each other in our lives.

Where I am right now is exactly where I belong.

I’m devoting more and more of my time to helping people any way I can. The healing is tremendous, and I feel ready to take the final road back home to share my story in the hopes that maybe you will recognize your own Hero’s Journey or feel the need to push forward and answer your own “call to adventure.”

The treasure of life awaits.

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This is part one of a three-part series. Part I is here. And Part II, here.

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~ Written by a recent Elephant Academy graduate. Learn to write & change your career for the mindfuller. Apply to Elephant Academy.~

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Author: J. Scott MacMillan 
Image: @elephantjournal on Instagram; Tarreck Raffoul, with kind permission 
Editor: Khara-Jade Warren