Step #2 Call to Action - JW

I believe the call came one night in mid-December 

when synchronicity led me to a Joseph Campbell video. 

I later posted this account on Substack:

Sitting in a comfy chair one full moon night, social media drained, Kindle Unlimited sucked dry, with hours until sleep, alone, awake, ready for something, I opened YouTube, typed in “documentaries,” found Finding Joe, and began wandering, once again, through the halls of the Hero’s Journey. 

This time, though, something was different. The rhythmic clacking of a train filled a moonlit forest. This time, I wasn’t learning the theory of story or the history of a great mythologist. This time, the words and images darted through a swirling mist, stirred by a hooting owl who flapped overhead dropping breadcrumbs resembling my own story. 

I heard a phone  ringing in the distance. Obviously, not for me. A man all in black leaped from behind a tree, crooked his finger and said, “Follow me.” He smelled of leather and ice; wheels clacked slowly over gleaming rails; his outstretched hand came closer. 

I leaned away. “Surely you don’t mean me.” My voice cracked, “I’m too old. My adventures are done.” 

He cackled and suddenly my hand was in his, my feet unsteady on the rolling platform. We picked up speed and disappeared into the misty night, words trailing into the distance … “Joe told me to bring you … now! … Holy Grail wait …”

Who dares defy a vision?

Late into the night, I watched Finding Joe again. Rethought bliss. Wondered where that train was bound for? Wondered if this was the call that must be answered? Wondered if this were a game and if I could find playmates on the journey?

Are there rules to this game … or, could we make up our own? December is coming, the pregnant lull before a new cycle begins … what might 2023 bring? 2023 and Me. How might that story unfold? Might we find at long last our own Holy Grail? Will there be dragons and demons? Will there be never-before-seen doors? Questions galore; answers absent … or hiding.

Invitation to join … price of admission: Watch Finding Joe

Next step … after watching Finding Joe, decide if you would like to play a new game next year, a game of our own invention … if enough of you are intrigued, I feel a zoom call coming on.

Even if this isn’t your thing, these words of Joseph Campbell might nourish your thinking about the coming year.

"If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, 

you know it's not your path. 

Your own path you make with every step you take. 

That's why it's your path." 

-- Joseph Campbell

BUT, NO ONE RESPONDED ... until a trusted friend wanted to know more ... soon the adventure was on, destination unknown.

I am reminded of those domino set-ups, that have now gone far beyond dominos, where one tiny action cascades into an incredible, and often beautiful, dance of connections.

Only in this case, we can't see the set up nor know the design. However, I feel emboldened by the Circle of Trust that we're creating and willing to patiently (well as patiently as possible) take each step to see what next appears.

I am already grateful for this journey, even in its fledgling state, and feel deeply connected and safe heading into this uncertain adventure.