The Hero’s Journey: Why Suffering is Only the Beginning
The Hero’s Journey: From Darkness to Legend
Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey is a story we all know, whether we realize it or not. It is the arc of transformation, the call to adventure, the trials, the descent into darkness, and the triumphant return, bearing gifts of wisdom for the world. It is the story of every myth, every epic, every legend. And it is our story, too.
Yesterday, I stood in front of fifteen women in a rehab facility, sharing my experience, strength, and hope. I told them about my battle with addiction, about the years I lost, the pain I endured, the bottom I hit. But more importantly, I told them about my rise. The 12-step program teaches us that we only get to keep what we have by giving it away freely, and in that room, looking into the eyes of women still in the depths of their struggle, I felt the weight and beauty of that truth.
I saw myself in them, in their hesitation, their exhaustion, their fragile hope. And I knew, as surely as I stand in long-term recovery today, that they, too, are heroes in the making.
The Descent and the Dark Night
Every hero’s journey begins with struggle. The abyss. The moment when all seems lost. Addiction was my bottom, but we each have this opportunity to fall and rise. Wherever your suffering lies, I know it well. It takes and takes, convincing us we are nothing. But even in that low, something calls us to rise. Maybe it’s the whisper of hope, the desperation for change, or the undeniable truth that we were made for more. Answering that call is terrifying. It means stepping into the unknown, facing our demons, walking through fire. But when we do? That is when transformation begins.
The Return and the Gift
Campbell teaches that the hero does not just survive; they return with a gift for the world. For me, that gift is my story. It is the lessons learned in suffering, the resilience built in pain, the faith that grew in the ashes. Yesterday, I passed that gift on, and in doing so, I was reminded that we are all legends. Every single one of us who has faced the impossible and kept going.
And if you’re not there yet? If you’re still in the darkness, fighting your way forward? Know this: more will be revealed. The pain you carry now will one day be the light that guides someone else. Your suffering will not be wasted. One day, you will stand where I stood, looking into the eyes of someone who feels lost, and you will say, I was there too. And I made it.
This is how legends are born. Not in ease, but in fire. Not in perfection, but in resilience.
Whatever you have overcome, however you show up to the world today—that is power. That is greatness. That is the making of a hero.
And you, my friend, are a legend.
