In the Hero’s Journey, the protagonist leaves their comfortable life to set out into the unknown. He meets failure and temptations along the way. But, ultimately, he pulls insight from the unknown and is changed forever. He comes back to his home a new—and better—man.
My boyfriend and I took a road trip to Tennessee this month. We spent a night in Nashville and then the rest of the time in Chattanooga. It’s a beautiful area. We hiked rocky trails up small mountains, along bluffs, and above the Tennessee River and adjoining lakes. A honky tonk bar, local breweries, a cavern tour, fried catfish with hushpuppies, and the Bowling Green hotel pool were other moments of our trip.
I won’t try to pretend Tennessee is Middle Earth or the real world outside the Matrix. But whenever I go on trips, I remember how important it is to step away from your home and routine on occasion.
Our home life matters profoundly. Deep, sustaining change happens at home. What we do everyday carves out ourselves like how wind and water slowly erode rock. We have to find purpose and satisfaction there or otherwise continually bandage our discontent with pleasure and novelty.
Another kind of growth comes from leaving home. Insights we pluck from our trips shake up a stale routine or encourage a crucial, life-altering decision. We return wiser, reinvigorated, or thankful. Sometimes we need distance from home to work out a problem or see that our lives are actually going quite well.
We are each the hero of our own story, even though there is a scant amount of heroics in normal life. Our problems are tedious work assignments and corrupt state politics rather than dragons and robots. However less spectacular, we shouldn’t trivialize them nor write them off. Work to slay your dragons in whatever form they take.
Recently, I’ve been thinking about when and where to put down roots. Stepping away for a short time made me more committed to staying put for a little while longer. There is still work to be done here and more I can offer.
