Connected.
Word count: 1432
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 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, 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 enveloped and preoccupied with my own. In a sense, I am selfish and disconnected— both qualities that are never expressed in a true leader.
1 Disconnection
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
2 Joseph Campbell
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,”
The hero’s journey that I plan to take is split into three separate components. These three are separation, initiation, and return. And in this journey, I will develop the three traits I mentioned earlier: compassion, duty, and patience. In terms of my leadership vision, the phases of separation, initiation, and return 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, my journey is planned in a more realistic context.
3 Roadmap
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
The first stage involves separating from my current society and ridding personal habits that hinder my connectedness with my environment. Two of these detrimental 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
4 Peace Corps
women and to promote better understanding of peoples on part of the Americans as well as better understanding of Americans on part of peoples.”[3] 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 the most vital. While I am separated, my transformation stage is to take place. Within 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.”[4] 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.
5 "Openness"
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.”[5] 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 
dedication
to “the morals not of his time, but of his art.”[6] He
is an exemplar of commitment and fidelity, attributes that I would like to
emulate in becoming a connected leader.
6 Daedalus
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 
them
out and achieved enlightenment.
7 Buddha
One issue that might surface would be the amount of time it would take for my journey to happen. The answer is that there is no concrete span of time for me to finish. 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.”[8]
8 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 will await me in the near 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, plumber, 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.
Illustration Index
1. Disconnected
http://fleetingglimpses.sulekha.com/mstore/fleetingglimpses/albums/disconnected%20copy.jpg
2. Joseph Campbell’s hero
http://www.jcf.org/images/works/herosjourneyvhs1997.jpg
3. A Roadmap of my Journey
Provided by the author.
4. Peace Corps Logo
http://www.tamu.edu/peacecorps/corps1.gif
5. Openness
http://www.tamu.edu/peacecorps/corps1.gif
6. Daedalus
http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/gallery/daedalus.jpg
7. Buddha
http://www.energyenhancement.org/BUDDHA.JPG
8. Enlightenment
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l39/blurgirl_2006/enlightened-chakras.jpg
