The hero with a thousand faces

This post is written by regular guest blogger Neela Bell.

I've been thinking about the faces I have. Well, actually, I've been thinking about how MANY of them I have; mother, teacher, girlfriend, daughter, aspiring writer, aspiring housekeeper, aspiring exerciser, and most of all (lately) aspiring spirit-full woman. It's almost like I turned 40 and suddenly I was a thousand new people.

I was on my hands and knees last week, picking up noodles (flung far and wide from my two year old) and I noticed Joseph Campbell's book (which I shamelessly ripped off for this blog's title) winking at me from the bottom of the bookshelf. It's a great book about the journey of the "hero" in all of us, and how it manifests itself in many faces and stories we continue to share.

I had a little "ah ha!" moment down there amongst the scattered Ichiban. It struck me how much "doing" I do in all the roles I've created, and how little "being" I have made space for. I wear so many faces, like a method actor, I often forget where the role ends and where I begin.

The other day, my girlfriend offered to watch my kids so I could spend some time alone at the local Second Cup. I looked at her with wide-eyed AMAZEMENT, as if she was suggesting I bungee jump off the High Level Bridge.

"Why would I want to do THAT??" I responded, with a lack of gratitude I'm ashamed of even now in the retelling.

"So you could spend some time by yourself ... "

What I did not realize then, but have come to know now, is that the last person I want to spend quality time alone with is me. In truth, I'm not even sure who that woman is. Which version of myself would I take to the coffee shop? And what could I possibly say to her when we got there.

This ... this exact thing ... is my hero's journey. It is the brave setting aside of faces until the remaining woman is one I can't wait to get to know. It is a path I am taking the first steps on, beginning with these shared words. The journey begins.