I want you to think about the life of a caterpillar for a moment. When the caterpillar
hears the call to climb the tree, what does it do? It doesn’t look around and wonder
what’s up the tree. It doesn’t lament leaving its family or outgrowing its old life. It
doesn’t wonder if it’s going to succeed or have enough resources. It simply listens to
the call and climbs the tree. It knows that it’s time—time to grow, to expand, to
transform, and to fly. It trusts the intelligence of the calling, without having to figure
it all out and without needing to know the outcome—by innately following its own
universal blueprint.
The most incredible part of the metamorphosis journey of the butterfly is that after
the caterpillar climbs the tree and cocoons itself, something powerful happens.
Within the cocoon, the caterpillar releases an enzyme that turns itself into a soupy
liquid, resulting in complete self-destruction. While this process of releasing its old
identity is messy, disorienting, and confusing, it’s also utterly beautiful, divine, and
sacred.
Most days, we hardly feel heroic. Just getting through our routines seems like a
mean feat. But what if we could become more awesome without doing anything
extreme but rather simply transforming slowly and steadily into the kind of person
we idealize? What if you could be the hero? Perhaps one of the most important
authors who wrote about human transformation is the American professor of
literature, Joseph Campbell who is best known for his advice to ‘follow your bliss.’
According to Campbell, a hero is someone who has, accidently or purposefully, given
their life to something that is bigger than themselves. This involves a painful
evolution that is a prerequisite to greatness.
In brief, and for those who might not be very familiar with the ‘hero’s journey’, as
Campbell puts it, it is a 12 step journey that begins with a call to adventure, a
challenge or a quest that represents itself in the ordinary world to the ordinary
person. In the beginning, the person is afraid and refuses the call but with the help of
a mentor, they overcome their fears and cross the threshold into an unknown world
and commit to the journey. Along the way, they are tested, meet enemies as well as
allies and eventually face their worst fears. Only when they survive this, the ordinary
person becomes a hero and is rewarded, usually with insight and knowledge. But the
reward is not the end of the story. The hero, now transformed by their experience, is
reborn and is called to share their knowledge on the journey with others. This
journey that is usually represented by a cycle is essentially a path of maturation that
all evolving humans follow. It is a fundamental experience that we all need to
undergo.
When we are children, we are dependent on others psychologically, materially and
physically for about 14 years of our lives. Only when we’ve successfully faced
challenges, are we enriched and have wisdom to offer others. This process ‘requires
a metaphorical death and resurrection,’ according to Campbell. This becomes the
motif of the hero’s journey – leaving one condition, finding the source of life to bring
them further in a richer and more mature condition.
Even though with the butterfly, the journey is a physical one, the hero’s journey is
not one that calls for a journey outward but rather a journey to come to the center
of our own existence. The result is a feeling of being ‘all with the world’. In this
sense, the journey is describing a path to awakening or illumination. The goal of this
journey, the reward if you will, is to go from a fearful, self-involved creature to ‘fully
human,’ or someone who realizes all of their potential. In a way, the example of the
butterfly remains one that supports the spiritual journey we are all here to embark
upon. It is a reminder, a catalyst if you will, that assures the seeker of a promised
transformation – it is a spiritual quest to find what is best in ourselves, with the
knowledge that the rest of humanity is on the same path of discovery.
To the same extent, this is how the Wisdom Integrated Model came to life with its
three domains; the cognitive, reflective and affective. The moment there is a call for
an ‘evolutionary self-care’, is the moment where we get determined to take action
and abandon our perceptual distortions, emotional afflictions and behavioral
compulsions that cause us suffering. It is the moment in which we decide to see
clearly, rather than observing the world through the lens of hurts and insecurities.
Reflection, and introspection as components of wisdom are key to observing oneself
through that lens until we become less reactive and more responsive.
The next realization in this journey is compassion or an awakened mind. We are now
determined to liberate ourselves for the benefit of others. It is helping other people
to see clearly and suffer less. This is our goal as coaches, and one of the 5 main
Coach Navigating Principles (CNP) of this new Wisdom Integrated Coaching model
namely helping our client reach equilibrium. The final realization is achieving a
‘quantum view,’ or wisdom. In this state, we see below the surface of things,
perceive the subtleties that were not previously apparent due to our suffering. The
big picture becomes apparent and we are able to discern the connections between
things and conceive solutions to profound problems. We are able to help our clients
find a purpose worth living for, principle number 2 of the CNP. After all, wisdom is
not only about advancing our own personal causes, making more money or acquiring
more power. It is about enabling that in others.
This is how you become a hero. The wisdom model, the journey, the quest, is one in
which you learn how to stop putting yourself first and think big. It involves a
transformation of consciousness. It is a call to perceive your personal struggle as a
way to make sense of the world. It is a quest for liberation and paths to connection
with what makes us human.
