We Are Always Spiraling Closer; Everything Counts

When we see a movie and the theme is the Hero's Journey, it's all so clear-cut.  The problem, or task, is always so clearly defined, The battle is generally external, against a reliably 'bad' or 'evil' opponent, and victory is always measurable and universally agreed-upon. 

Part of the reason this theme of the Hero's Journey (hero encounters problem or Task, which takes her/him out of the happy bubble of their previous existence and into Foreign Territory, to gain allies, learn about her/himself, uncover talents and abilities heretofore unknown to them, achieve the Victory, and then return to the beginning, changed by the experience) appeals so universally to us as humans, is that we are all always experiencing some point along this loop.  Always.

In our world, a lot of the battles are internal, the villains are almost never who you think they are (or who they think they are, for that matter, like when they're aspects of your self!), the battles are almost never so clearly defined or measurable, and the cycle doesn't seem to end at any point.  We don't really know if there are credits when the 'house lights come back up', or if it just fades to a different scene - nobody's been able to write an reliably accurate review as of yet.  But certainly, while we inhabit our human bodies, here on earth, the loop appears to be continuous. 

I believe that every human being on this planet came here for a few main reasons.  Healing, learning, and entertainment seem to be universal to most, if not all, humans as goals while here on Earth.  And then there are other goals which seem to be individual to each person.  Some people are really fortunate and they know exactly what they're here for, right from the start.  My cousin knew she was here to be a teacher from the time she could speak, and today, she is a positive force helping young minds to grow and flourish, you guessed it, teaching kids!  I, however, wasn't so certain.  Everything sounded at least a little bit interesting, a few possibilities seemed more interesting than others, but nothing made my heart sing and dance more than anything else I can recall.  After high school and my first few attempts at sustainably attending college, I worked first for an environmental advocacy group, then at a law firm, then at a culinary school, then at a dating service company before I finally realized that the field I'm here to be a part of is Health/Healing. 

It could be tempting at first glance to say, wow - too bad you wasted eight years figuring that out....but did I really??  Were those twists and turns detours off my path, or were they coils of my path spiraling closer to my primary goal?

Remember those old-school video games where you'd go around searching for magical tools and such, and you'd have to get the golden key (or whatever) from level five to open the magic door in level seven?  If you got to level seven without the key, you'd have to go all the way back to level five for it?  Well, the interesting thing is, we can never know ahead of time which magic keys we will have need of, perhaps several 'levels' into our respective futures.  I can promise you that I learned very crucial skills and became intimately familiar with integral concepts and truths at each different job along the way, without which I would not have all the tools I have today, which I know I'm going to need on my path to becoming a Nurse Midwife.  If I hadn't completed each loop of that spiral, I wouldn't be at this juncture, right here and right now, poised to begin an incredible journey, in the midst of several other incredible journeys, and with more incredible journeys yet to come! 

That's the other interesting thing: we are all always leaving on our Quest, and we are all always Returning as well.  It's kind of like how we're all always breathing.  We're always inhaling and we're always exhaling.  Always leaving, and always returning coming home, changed.

My point is this: when we're on a path, it's impossible to get enough distance that you'd be able to see the true shape of the path.  Therefore, as long as one pays attention and stays alert for those 'magic keys' along the way, how much more productive to give up the exhausting illusion that you can know ahead of time which way your path will lead!!  How much easier, unencumbered by this fallacy that life goes from point a to point b along a remotely predictable route!  Now we are open to all the possibilities - much more likely to spot a 'golden key' in disguise the first spiral-around, so we can continue spiraling closer.  And no matter where you are in life, especially the most seemingly-unlikely of places, there's always, always, always a 'golden key' you're going to need later.  Every step counts, every step is getting you closer to your goals.  Especially when you can't see how this is happening, it's happening.