DENIAL OF THE CALL

When the Unknown summons you, the Call to adventure cannot entirely be ignored. 

“The Call” is experienced by the individual as new information or an actual experience that alters his world-view. Something that causes a stir of curiosity, motivation, or simply serves as an “awakening” to a new idea. 

Denial of the call, is the denial of fate, and will undoubtedly lead to an internal state of dissatisfaction, depression, and cyclical suffering. 

Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, describes the experience that follows the denial as, “Walled in boredom, hard work, or ‘culture,’ the subject loses the power of significant affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved. His flowering world becomes a wasteland of dry stones and his life feels meaningless. . . All he can do is create new problems for himself and await the gradual approach of his disintegration”.

By choosing comfort and old ways, an individual forgoes their potential for change. The Denial, is an act of self-preservation, founded in fear, and when the Call passes, he either consciously or unconsciously becomes plagued by his decision. His favored old world of innocence, comfort, and simplicity becomes wrecked with a new sense of unhappiness, purposelessness, and pointlessness. 

Examples of the Denial can be found in many stories, old & new. In the Matrix, Neo denies his role as “The One” and suffers emotionally, Harry Potter refuses the magical world & his fate within it, and in the Iliad, Achilles’ withdrawal leads to heightened suffering for not just himself, emotionally, but also for the entire Greek force. 

What can we learn from these stories? 

We learn that our interests, passions, and inklings for something beyond our ‘normal’ lives should be embraced, and more importantly, chased. 

However if the Unknown presents itself to you, via experience, media, or idea, you should answer its summons. 

And, if you feel like shit or have an overwhelming sense of cyclical suffering, where nothing matters, and each day is a repeat of the same filled with heartless happenings. . . You may have already denied the Call — but it is not too late. 

You still have the capacity to fight Denial, break the cycle, and begin your Path today.