The 365 Commitment

Day 36 – Get Out There, Or In There

I loved reading adventure novels when I was a kid. Especially 16,^th 17,^th and 18^th century sea novels. Can you imagine setting out to circumnavigate the world before radios, or phones, or engines? Nothing but wind power and rowing power for boats! Not even decent maps! Just incredible bravery and skill following the call to adventure.

Personally, I’m a land lubber. I don’t enjoy seasickness or flat horizons. Nope, the high seas are not for me, but the stories are so great! I love them because the hero’s journey is a true metaphor for how to live life. Get out there and go on a quest. Take a risk and test your wits and strength and see what happens. I’ve had a few adventures already in life and I’m looking forward to more.

For me, the 365 Commitment is an adventure. An adventure in self-discovery and development. Instead of going out to fight the external “dragon” and bring back the gold, I have chosen to seek out my internal dragons and slay them and bring back the gold for my family and community, and myself. The dragon is my own weakness, laziness, bad habits, fears, and apathy. The gold is my new found capacity and transformed being and . . . well, who knows what will come about? After 365 days of serious effort and commitment to develop new good habits and callous my mind against self-imposed limitations, I wonder what the outcome (gold) will be? To me that’s a pretty cool adventure.

But, it’s not risk free. Those internal dragons are no joke, and it takes the same resolve and bravery as any external adventure. But, we know from the old stories, the classic hero’s tale, that the journey will result in crisis, and transformation; we know that the transformation we experience will not be what we imagined it would be, but something we could not have guessed. With luck and resolve, and a moral grounding, the result at minimum will be a life filled with meaning and nobility, and self-respect. With good fortune . . . incredible things may happen.

So get out there, or in there, and let your light shine. Use everything at your disposal, use all of your cunning, and will, and courage to slay those inner dragons, and you will win the prize.

Ben Wagner (42)

Member 365 Commitment

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