On New Beginnings

The core premise of mythology is to show us, through stories, how to survive death and rebirth. The person at the center of the heroic journey follows a path in which they die to their old selves and their previous ways of being, go on an adventure in a different place, and re-emerge as a new version of themselves. 

The reason that myths continue to hold so much power, millennia after they were written, is because this is the story of human life. New and lost relationships, homes, jobs, ways of being. It happens over and over. The beauty of mythology is that these old stories still resonate because they are a gift from the past, from those who came before. They  had to navigate this reality, as we do. As humans are wont to do, they told a story, to themselves, but also to leave behind for us. They told us the story of how to move past survival in these moments, to be transformed.

I love sharing what mythology has taught me about these precarious transitions, mostly because the myths have helped me so much in figuring out how to navigate my own deaths and rebirths.

I’m in the middle of one right now. 

Around the time that this essay is published I will be leaving behind my home and community of 28 years, and moving to a part of the country where I’ve never lived before, and where I know very few people.

It’s an enormous leap of faith, exciting and terrifying, as all deaths and rebirths are. 

If we stay in our hometowns, and never leave, we are never called upon to step into the role of the hero in that part of our lives. We still will be, of course, in some way or another, because it is unavoidable for anyone. 

I’ve lived in Seattle for most of my adult life. In fact, my roots in the Pacific Northwest go back even farther, about as far back as is possible for someone of European extraction. I’m a descendant of the Mercer family, who certainly put their mark on early Seattle. Mercer Slough in Bellevue was my 4x great-grandfather’s land, and to this day you can see his picture in their visitors center. 

Seattle means so much to me, and the climate and people of the Western United States has been all I’ve ever known. 

And, yet, here we are. In a few days I’ll be living in New England. 

We each only get so much story, and I want mine to be as interesting as possible. 

Part of what makes this easier to navigate for me is knowing myth, to know that fear and excitement are all part of the process.

I can call on my hero archetype when I need a little boost of that powerful energy. By inviting the archetypal energy of the hero in, I can feel the presence of so many heroes that came before me, who went into the belly of the beast and came out the other side, unharmed and transformed. 

What treasure will I bring out of this journey through the land of the dead? What treasure will you bring out of yours? 

I’m excited to find out, and being excited helps me feel that heroic archetypal power, and it pushes the fear away, for just a little while. Being grateful for what we’re experiencing isn’t easy when we’re in the midst of being rendered then put back together again, but remembering the lessons of our myths can help us immeasurably.

I know it’s helping me. I know it can help you, too.

May the gods and heroes of our myths be with us all.