how dark does darkness have to be?

I’ve been reading Ben Katt’s The Way Home and have been thoroughly enjoying it–I just purchased a few more copies to keep on hand so I can gift them to people I think it will resonate with.

The book is an example of the type of book I might write one day; it is also perfect for where I am on my Pursuit and personal growth. Without sharing too much about the book, Katt looks at his personal journey through the lens of the hero’s journey. If you’re unfamiliar with the hero’s journey, you are more familiar than you realize–chances are your favorite movie or book is built around the hero’s journey.

I’m at the death/darkness part of Katt’s journey, and I can’t help but wonder if we all have to travel the hero’s journey to move closer to our authentic Self–specifically, the death and darkness phase. My initial thought was, "I’m not sure," but as I‘ve pondered the idea longer, I do believe the hero’s journey applies to all of us on the Pursuit of our authentic life.

When it comes to death/darkness in the journey, I think it is a phase we must experience, but not all experiences are the same.

I can’t speak to how you think about the darkness associated with the death phase of the journey, but I have been afraid of embracing this phase because I’ve associated the darkness with being really dark–depression, feeling lost, losing family, etc. I think this fear of something terrible having to happen has kept me from embracing the hero’s journey as a part of the Pursuit, but last night, I had an important thought come across my mind.

Darkness is relative.

Not all darkness is the same, and not everyone has to have a complete breakdown to find their authentic Self and progress along the hero’s journey.

What is dark to me may not be that dark to you—or it could be the darkest of the dark.

I can look back at my Pursuit so far and identify periods of darkness, but thankfully, they are not what I would have considered dark in the past (before realizing dark is relative)—I only identify dark as the extremely traumatic experiences that probably come to your mind as well.

This is a relatively new idea for me, so I’m sure I have more to learn about it and share, but I’m hopeful that I am right that darkness is relative and that not all of the death and darkness phase of the hero’s journey is a dramatic and traumatic as we have grown accustomed to reading and watching.

I also wonder if being more aware of where we might be on our hero's journey will allow us to recognize the death and darkness phase as it begins to unfold and through this awareness prevent our Selves from spiraling further down into darkness.

I’m interested to see if my Pursuit becomes a story of the hero’s journey with less volatile swings from highs and lows and shows that not all phases of death and darkness are to be feared.

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See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC