Good 'morrow {{First Name|friend}},
Have you heard of Joseph Campbell?
He's the author behind a classic book called Hero with a Thousand Faces. He's also the creator of the storytelling framework known as the Hero's Journey. In fact, I stumbled upon an article recently about someone mapping their Web3 experience to the Hero's Journey here (so you can see it being applied in modern times).
What's fascinating about the Hero's Journey is that it can be found in the myths and legends of almost all cultures. According to Campbell:
“Mythology is not a lie, mythology is poetry, it is metaphorical. It has been well said that mythology is the penultimate truth–penultimate because the ultimate cannot be put into words. It is beyond words. Beyond images, beyond that bounding rim of the Buddhist Wheel of Becoming. Mythology pitches the mind beyond that rim, to what can be known but not told.”
In modern times, because of the influence of science and secular worldviews, we associate myths with lies or misinformation. However, ancient cultures used myths and legends more purposefully.
They used them to explain the world and embed deep knowledge to be passed on to future generations through oral traditions. They were not always intended to be literal.
Born in New York in 1904, Campbell studied stories from all around the world. He developed an intense fascination with Native American lore, which is what led to his vast learning.¹
Interestingly enough, it was similar for me when my mother introduced ancestral/Polynesian myths growing up. It wasn't until university - when I started animating these stories - that I was forced to dive deeper into their symbolisms and hidden meanings. This led me to do work with Aboriginal groups in Australia, who gave me further insights into the similarities between our cultures and worldviews.
This is why I often enjoy connecting the seemingly unconnected - because, fundamentally, indigenous cultures hinge on everything being connected. And this understanding is what influences my work as an entrepreneurial community-builder.
If you'd like to watch or bookmark Joseph Campbell's famous 6-part interview series, you can start here:
Until tomorrow {{First Name|fellow wayfinder}}, remember: it will come.
