Want to know why this time feels so damn hard? It’s because we’re being INITIATED.
And what Harry Potter has to teach us right now.
You know why this whole period feels so damn hard, unnerving, anxiety-inducing, [fill in your fave adjective du jour]?
It’s because we’re being INITIATED.
I’m not talking about the kind of initiation you get in the Greek frat system, but instead the MYTHIC.
It’s the kind of journey where Odysseus / Harry Potter / Hermione Granger / Frodo / Luke Skywalker leaves the comforts of the world they knew, embarks on a journey into the dark wilderness where they encounter their demons, and musters up the courage to slay them.
This journey for any one person to take is really damn hard. I mean, c’mon for Harry Potter to realize that he’s part Voldemort… that’s just ROUGH.
But what’s happening right now is that we’re all being initiated AT THE SAME TIME. So instead of it being just Harry Potter whisked away from Privet Drive into an unfamiliar world, ALL 7.8 BILLION OF US ON THE PLANET have been pushed out of the world we once knew, and kicked into one that’s unfamiliar, hard-as-hell, and where no one really knows how to do this because NO ONE has ever seen this, let alone navigated global plague / disruption.
It’s completely normal on these mythic journeys to feel lost. Really.
It’s normal to yearn for the world that we used to have (where most of us knew where we could get food/toilet paper, where we knew our jobs were relatively safe, where there were stable assumptions about life we could rely on — like having the freedom to move as we please). It’s so damn normal to just want to give up when we’re at our breaking point (after being in the pressure cookers of our homes, cooped up for weeks).
And take comfort in the fact that every great hero / heroine struggled with their initiations. Odysseus got seriously depressed when he doubted whether he’d ever get home to see his family. Luke Skywalker found himself trapped over and over (in trash compactors, on the Death Star), and he had to find his way out again and again and again. Hermione Granger had to learn to not just rely on her book smarts, but also TRUST her inherent gifts… after getting her friends out of trouble over and over.
But that’s what initiation does. THAT’S THE POINT. It separates us from what was comfortable so that there’s finally a fire under our butts…
Sure, that fire is UNCOMFORTABLE AS HELL (pun intended). When our hand’s in the fire, it’s a reflex — we jump back. No one likes getting burned. Our bodies are trying to do their evolutionary duty to keep us alive.
But if we let it — and if we let a little courage in alongside the fear / anxiety / worry / doubt — that fire can kick us in the pants to muster up inner resources and strength we didn’t know we even had until we meet the challenges of our time.
Like Harry Potter had NO IDEA he was magic until he left his muggle family. (Living with a normal family like the Dursleys, how could he know?!) He didn’t realize he had inner magic that he could count on until HE WAS CHALLENGED and way out of his comfort zone. He didn’t realize that he had the power to face the most menacing threats of his time until HE ACTUALLY FACED THEM (e.g., dementors, monstrous creatures in the dark forest, shape-shifters that showed people their worst fears).
Whenever Harry tried to run away — like he did in the last book because he was trying to protect Hermione & Ron from the darkness in him — he only ended up more fearful, alone and ultimately weaker / more vulnerable. It was only when he was able to meet the unacknowledged / difficult parts in him (e.g., in the form of Voldemort) and partner with others was the world metaphorically safe and peaceful again.
BY FACING THE CHALLENGES, THAT’S WHEN HARRY WAS ABLE TO SLAY HIS FEARS AND TRANSFORM THEM.
And so individually and collectively, that’s the choice we’ve got in this moment of global initiation — do we want to use it to face our inner demons (e.g., our fears, anxieties), or do we let slide an opportunity to discover magic in us that we didn’t know we had?
Individually — are we willing to face our fear of death (e.g., of survival, scarcity, being emotionally cast out from our tribe) to start choosing what brings us fully alive? Are we willing to meet our anxieties about the unknowns of the future, and transform them through gratitude for what we have RIGHT NOW, and trust in larger forces? Are we willing to transform our fears / anxieties into courage and grace?
Collectively — are we open to seeing how our assumption that it’s a Darwinian dog-eat-dog world has led to us creating weak systems of collective care that threaten us all (e.g., a weak health infrastructure, a weak social safety network)? For one of the big demons that this pandemic is asking us to see is that so long as any of us is vulnerable, EVERYONE is vulnerable.
Once we’re willing to face what’s been unseen / unacknowledged, THAT’S when we’ll all get to become living legends in the mythology of our own individual and collective lives.
With love & wishes for our collective grace,
Melissa
PS, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments as in times like these, I’ve been finding it really helpful to be in conversation with a lot of people!
PPS, If you enjoyed this, share this with loved ones who you think need to hear this right now!
You know why this whole period feels so damn hard, unnerving, anxiety-inducing, [fill in your fave adjective du jour]?
It’s because we’re being INITIATED.
I’m not talking about the kind of initiation you get in the Greek frat system, but instead the MYTHIC.
It’s the kind of journey where Odysseus / Harry Potter / Hermione Granger / Frodo / Luke Skywalker leaves the comforts of the world they knew, embarks on a journey into the dark wilderness where they encounter their demons, and musters up the courage to slay them.
This journey for any one person to take is really damn hard. I mean, c’mon for Harry Potter to realize that he’s part Voldemort… that’s just ROUGH.
But what’s happening right now is that we’re all being initiated AT THE SAME TIME. So instead of it being just Harry Potter whisked away from Privet Drive into an unfamiliar world, ALL 7.8 BILLION OF US ON THE PLANET have been pushed out of the world we once knew, and kicked into one that’s unfamiliar, hard-as-hell, and where no one really knows how to do this because NO ONE has ever seen this, let alone navigated global plague / disruption.
It’s completely normal on these mythic journeys to feel lost. Really.
It’s normal to yearn for the world that we used to have (where most of us knew where we could get food/toilet paper, where we knew our jobs were relatively safe, where there were stable assumptions about life we could rely on — like having the freedom to move as we please). It’s so damn normal to just want to give up when we’re at our breaking point (after being in the pressure cookers of our homes, cooped up for weeks).
And take comfort in the fact that every great hero / heroine struggled with their initiations. Odysseus got seriously depressed when he doubted whether he’d ever get home to see his family. Luke Skywalker found himself trapped over and over (in trash compactors, on the Death Star), and he had to find his way out again and again and again. Hermione Granger had to learn to not just rely on her book smarts, but also TRUST her inherent gifts… after getting her friends out of trouble over and over.
But that’s what initiation does. THAT’S THE POINT. It separates us from what was comfortable so that there’s finally a fire under our butts…
Sure, that fire is UNCOMFORTABLE AS HELL (pun intended). When our hand’s in the fire, it’s a reflex — we jump back. No one likes getting burned. Our bodies are trying to do their evolutionary duty to keep us alive.
But if we let it — and if we let a little courage in alongside the fear / anxiety / worry / doubt — that fire can kick us in the pants to muster up inner resources and strength we didn’t know we even had until we meet the challenges of our time.
Like Harry Potter had NO IDEA he was magic until he left his muggle family. (Living with a normal family like the Dursleys, how could he know?!) He didn’t realize he had inner magic that he could count on until HE WAS CHALLENGED and way out of his comfort zone. He didn’t realize that he had the power to face the most menacing threats of his time until HE ACTUALLY FACED THEM (e.g., dementors, monstrous creatures in the dark forest, shape-shifters that showed people their worst fears).
Whenever Harry tried to run away — like he did in the last book because he was trying to protect Hermione & Ron from the darkness in him — he only ended up more fearful, alone and ultimately weaker / more vulnerable. It was only when he was able to meet the unacknowledged / difficult parts in him (e.g., in the form of Voldemort) and partner with others was the world metaphorically safe and peaceful again.
BY FACING THE CHALLENGES, THAT’S WHEN HARRY WAS ABLE TO SLAY HIS FEARS AND TRANSFORM THEM.
And so individually and collectively, that’s the choice we’ve got in this moment of global initiation — do we want to use it to face our inner demons (e.g., our fears, anxieties), or do we let slide an opportunity to discover magic in us that we didn’t know we had?
Individually — are we willing to face our fear of death (e.g., of survival, scarcity, being emotionally cast out from our tribe) to start choosing what brings us fully alive? Are we willing to meet our anxieties about the unknowns of the future, and transform them through gratitude for what we have RIGHT NOW, and trust in larger forces? Are we willing to transform our fears / anxieties into courage and grace?
Collectively — are we open to seeing how our assumption that it’s a Darwinian dog-eat-dog world has led to us creating weak systems of collective care that threaten us all (e.g., a weak health infrastructure, a weak social safety network)? For one of the big demons that this pandemic is asking us to see is that so long as any of us is vulnerable, EVERYONE is vulnerable.
Once we’re willing to face what’s been unseen / unacknowledged, THAT’S when we’ll all get to become living legends in the mythology of our own individual and collective lives.
With love & wishes for our collective grace,
Melissa
PS, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments as in times like these, I’ve been finding it really helpful to be in conversation with a lot of people!
PPS, If you enjoyed this, share this with loved ones who you think need to hear this right now!