Departure
Stages one to five. You leave the life you knew.
Ordinary world
The life before. It does not have to be a happy one. It only has to be the one you took for granted.
In a life A job you had held for eleven years. A marriage on its usual track. A town you had never thought of leaving.
The question Where were you, and who were you, before any of this began?
Call to adventure
Something arrives that does not fit the old life. It can be an invitation or a blow.
In a life A diagnosis. A job offer in another country. A child on the way. A letter from a lawyer. A book that would not leave you alone.
The question What happened that told you your life could not stay as it was?
Refusal of the call
You say no. Nearly everyone does, and the reasons are good ones.
In a life “Not now.” “I have a mortgage.” “People like me do not do that.” Sometimes the refusal lasts ten years.
The question How did you say no at first? What were you afraid of losing?
Meeting with the mentor
Someone or something gives you what you were missing: nerve, a map, permission.
In a life A grandfather. A sergeant. A sponsor. A priest. Sometimes a single sentence in a book by a man long dead.
The question Who, or what book or teaching, gave you the nerve or the map?
Crossing the first threshold
The step after which the old life is closed. Often it is small and physical.
In a life You sign. You board. You say it out loud to her. You hand in the keys.
The question What was the moment you could no longer go back?
Initiation
Stages six to nine. The new world tests you, and something in you dies and something is won.
Tests, allies, and enemies
The new world has rules you do not know. You learn who is with you and who is not, mostly by getting it wrong.
In a life The first year of a business. The first months sober. The first posting. The friend who stopped calling and the stranger who did not.
The question Who stood with you, who stood against you, and what did the early trials teach you?
The inmost cave
You come near the thing you have been walking around all along.
In a life The conversation with your father. The account books. The clinic waiting room. The night before the hearing.
The question What was the thing you least wanted to face, and how did you approach it?
The ordeal
The worst of it. Something dies here. It is usually an idea of yourself.
In a life The bankruptcy. The funeral. The day she left. The night you understood that the man you thought you were was not going to get you through.
The question What was the worst of it? What died there: a plan, a belief, a version of you?
Reward
You are still standing, and you are holding something you did not have before.
In a life A skill. A clear sight of who your friends are. The plain knowledge that you can be afraid and do it anyway.
The question What did you come out holding that you did not have before?
Return
Stages ten to twelve. You come home changed, and bring something back.
The road back
You turn back toward ordinary life, and find that it will not simply take you back.
In a life Old friends want the old you. The thing you beat is not finished with you. Going home costs something too.
The question What did it cost to turn toward home, and what followed you?
The resurrection
One more test, in front of the people who knew you before. It proves the change is real.
In a life The same temptation, offered again on a bad day. The same argument with your brother, and this time you do not take the bait.
The question What final test proved you were a changed man and not the old one in new clothes?
Return with the elixir
You bring back something of use to someone else. Without this, the whole trip was only a hard time.
In a life You raise your son differently. You sit with the next man in the waiting room. You write it down.
The question What do you bring back that is of use to someone else? Who is it for?
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