Connected.

Word count: 1389

DBR Word Count: 1,800

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show."

-First sentence, David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens

 

            I am a student, a son, a brother, a friend, and many other manifestations found in society. But out of all of these roles, I am not a true leader. I spend my days attending classes, meeting friends, and allotting a large majority of time for myself. This time is used for self contemplation, exercise, enjoyment, indulgence, and schoolwork. But even with a decent amount of friends and acquaintances of whom I can relate and talk to, I feel as if there is something missing: I am not truly connected to anything or anyone. Instead of focusing on other people and their problems, I am usually enveloped and preoccupied with my own. In a sense, I am selfish and disconnected— both qualities that are never expressed in a true leader. In order to better myself and reconnect with my surroundings, my leadership vision is modeled after the journey a person undergoes in order to become Joseph Campbell’s definition of a “hero.” During this journey, compassion, duty, and patience will be tested and improved. By developing these traits, I will ultimately make myself a better leader and individual.

            Joseph Campbell’s hero is not what one would expect to be. The definition of his hero is not restricted to individuals who perform lifesaving deeds on a daily basis. A realistic hero should not be confused with one that is out of a comic book. Instead of shooting webbing out of their hands or flying “faster than a speeding bullet,” Campbell’s hero is one who overcomes his or her own “personal and societal limitations” and “battles past to generally valid, normally human forms.”[1] Heroes essentially surpass the standards set forth by their current environment and become as human as possible. They are their own masters. They are in control of themselves and there is a sense of pristine confidence that is present. Because they are the closest to “true” humanity, I believe that Campbell’s heroes are the most fit to become leaders, possessing the ability to relate to everyone and to tap into a connectedness that I lack.

            The hero’s journey that I plan to take is split into three separate components. These three are separation, initiation, and return. In terms of my leadership vision, these three words should not be taken too literal with Campbell’s description: “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man”[2] Rather than attempting to do the aforementioned, I have planned my journey in a more realistic context.

            The actual separation I will undergo will involve losing habits that disconnect me from my surroundings. And instead of venturing into a supernatural or mystical world to meet enigmatic and godly wonders, I will instead pursue a world or environment different from what I am comfortable with. The actual “initiation” step will be modified into the “transformation” step. It will be during this step where I develop and refine the three essential traits to be a connected leader: compassion, duty, and patience.  My “return” will remain the same as the Campbell describes. However, instead of returning to “bestow boons on my fellow man,” I will return a modern hero—one who is able to identify and relate with everyone and everything. I will return a true leader.

            There is no concrete span of time for me to finish my journey. I am not rushed or pressured to meet specific deadlines or goals. The only driving force behind it is the simple need to achieve the realistic model I have set forth. I will have “died as a modern man; but as eternal man—perfected, unspecific, universal man”—I will be “reborn.”[3]

            The first stage involves separating from my current society and ridding personal habits that hinder my connectedness with my environment. Two major habits are apathy and laziness. If I continue to be unmotivated and disinterested in the things that I do, then I will ultimately lose the required effort to become a leader. Apathy and laziness are the antitheses to what connects and unifies people. These two habits will be replaced by compassion and duty, two traits that will be further explored along with patience in the second stage of my journey.

            As a means of separating myself from my current comfortable environment, I believe that in order to fully manifest the three necessary traits for a hero and leader, one must separate themselves from what they are accustomed to. With that in mind, I must leave the safety of my college campus, city, state, or even country in order and start anew elsewhere. One of the many opportunities to discover new places is in the United States’ own Peace Corps.  As a nonprofit and sympathetic organization, the Corps’ mission statement is simple: “to provide aide to countries who require the aide of trained men and women and to promote better understanding of peoples on part of the Americans as well as better understanding of Americans on part of peoples.”[4] The organization promotes communication and understanding between separate worlds.  By devoting a part of my life to the Peace Corps or other similar organizations, I will be able to meet various types of people, providing myself ample opportunity to connect with people.

            The second stage of the journey is most vital. While I am separated, my transformation stage is to take place. During this stage, the three aforementioned traits will be developed: compassion, duty, and patience. All of these are interrelated and accommodate each other. Beginning with compassion, it can be obtained through the means of “opening” myself. Like Ram Dass suggests in How Can I Help?, we must allow ourselves to “open to the fullness of our humanity.”[5] When we are at our “fullness,” labels identifying us as caregivers, patients, helpers and helped do not exist. Instead, we are open to everyone and their thoughts. This “openness” is the basis where I will derive my compassion.

            In order to maintain a steady level of compassion, I must practice it daily. In Medicine and Compassion, Chokyi Rinpoche notes that compassion is “just like expertise at the piano, increased compassion is a result of consistent daily practice, not a sudden burst of inspiration.”[6] By allowing myself to practice compassion everyday, I will possess a sense of duty and dedication to my personal cause. In other words, they are needed for compassion’s upkeep. It is also during this topic where Campbell’s definition of a hero is used. In the example of Daedalus, Campbell characterizes him as a hero because of his dedication to “the morals not of his time, but of his art.”[7] He is an exemplar of commitment and fidelity, attributes that I would like to emulate in becoming a connected leader.

            The final component of the three traits a leader possesses is patience. While compassion and duty are equally significant, they cannot exist without the determination one derives from being patient. Being patient not only allows one to communicate better with compassion, but it also solidifies one’s dedication and offers reassurance that they are making a difference and their contributions won’t be in vain. The epitome of patience, Buddha, is also offered as an example by Campbell. Withstanding “Whirlwind, rocks, thunder and flame, smoking weapons with keen edges, burning coals, hot ashes, boiling mud, blistering sands, and fourfold darkness,”[8] Buddha was never distracted during his meditation. Instead of giving in to distractions, he waited them out and achieved enlightenment.

            Once I have become patient, compassionate, and dutiful to a reasonable level, then the transformation stage of my journey will end and I will return to the “real” world.

While I am unsure of what awaits me in the future, I am confident in knowing that I will have returned from my journey a steadier and capable individual. I will be more resolute with my compassion for others and able to patiently listen with an open mind. It does not matter whether I will become a doctor, lawyer, drug trafficker, or another profession. I will possess the abilities sympathize, feel, unify, and connect with people as a leader. My return does not mark an end to my journey. It is merely the beginning.


[1]  Joseph Campbell, Composition and Reading in World Literature Course Anthology: Hero of a Thousand Faces , (Austin: Jenn's Copying & Binding, 2007), 6-7.

[2] Joseph Campbell, Composition and Reading in World Literature Course Anthology: Hero of a Thousand Faces , (Austin: Jenn's Copying & Binding, 2007), 10.

[3] Joseph Campbell, Composition and Reading in World Literature Course Anthology: Hero of a Thousand Faces , (Austin: Jenn's Copying & Binding, 2007), 7.

[4] “Mission Statement,” The United States Peace Corps, 2007, http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=Learn.whatispc.mission.

[5] Dass and Gorman, “How Can I Help? Stories and Reflections on Service” (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc, 1985), 8.

[6] Rinpoche and Shlim, “Medicine & Compassion” (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2006), XV.

[7] Joseph Campbell, Composition and Reading in World Literature Course Anthology: Hero of a Thousand Faces , (Austin: Jenn's Copying & Binding, 2007), 9.

[8]  Joseph Campbell, Composition and Reading in World Literature Course Anthology: Hero of a Thousand Faces , (Austin: Jenn's Copying & Binding, 2007), 11.