The Hero's Journey, the stuff Legends are made of!!!

Bloggers, I remember when I was a young boy, and when my family was able to buy a Black and White 13-inch screen T.V. and we were allowed to watch cartoons, Mighty Mouse and Popeye were my favorite heroes. Then as we grew older and into the Western movies, I loved Zorro. But it was the Wizard of Oz that really stayed in my mind forever. And it was also during these early young years of mine that I was able to afford to go, and sit in a theatre, and watch all kinds of movies where the good guy always came back against all odds against him and won the fight or the prize or both. However, I grew to love the mythological heroes like Hercules, Jason and the Argonauts and Sinbad. I was a kid so, that kind of monstrous action and drama would cause us kids to go out to the woods and creeks afterwards and vicariously pretend to be the heroes ourselves in our minds. And of course, later my Dad, took me and my brothers to the movies once to see the movie The Ten Commandments. And to be honest I was about10 years old then. But that movie was greater than all the hero movies that I had ever seen. And I had seen many by that time, even if they had been in cartoon form. However, later in 1977-'79, I was in College after the Military Service and the Educators there were still telling stories about the ancient gods and the mythological heroes, but not about any heroes of the Bible. Most all the Educators spoke about and or pointed to sources like Architecture and Art of the past and present and said that the residues of those ancient cultures that produced all those hero characters of the past still live today. And they loved to talk about the classical hero's journey. They talked about those heroes so much that I could visualize their journeys in my mind and didn't need theatre because my mind was producing the drama in illustration form in my eyes. Especially the epic scenes of war and the battles being fought in a grand scale. And as it is in all epic drama scenes and even in real life, love and deep romance between a man and a female is either the good or bad force for cause of conflict in the plot of the story. And then throughout all the theme and situations in the story, the ending is always apocalyptic or cataclysmic after all hell breaks loose. How can a movie be legitimately representative of real life and its tragedies of pain... if there is not love and hate between a man and a woman in the story. And one or the other is trying to restore it? That scenario is painful to live, and it hurts even to watch it played out over and over again in all cultures of the world. I agree that a Healing Balm is badly needed not only for me but everybody else too. And further, how can a love between a man and a woman be re-stablished between them whole heartedly if there are no words to say that I am sorry for failing you. Something that truly states with all one's being that I did what I had to do because of the messed-up love that I have for you. And further, I did it for the greater good because our peoples' freedom and continued existence depends on my services as a warrior for our king's armies. Therefore, I had to leave to fight against that wicked foe, those Trojans and Conquistadores that always steal what is rightfully ours and threatens to take our babies and our women and ravish them at will. And they want to take all our men to be slaves in the rock quarries in chains forever more. I hope you can understand Penelope why I was gone so long!? And Odysseus came back from the Trojan War just in the nick of time as hundreds of suiters who wanted Penelope swarmed around like vultures for her flesh knowing that Penelope's husband was gone 10 years. Do you see Bloggers what I mean about the hero's journey and what I learned about it up until I was sent to prison in1980. It was in 1980 that I converted to Christianity. Every year after 1970 I was living a hedonistic lifestyle like a true Bohemian, and I was high as a kite in early March Spring Winds. And then came the Summer Winds of that same year and they took me with my hands and feet tied in chains to a wasteland at the Texas State Prison Farms in the dead of over 100- degree heat with little water to drink. Water was served twice a day in the fields. Only once in the morning and once in the middle afternoon. At those incredible extreme Texas weather conditions throughout the years of hard labor I never saw myself on a hero's journey. I had little knowledge of what the Christian life was about back then because I never ever thought that I needed to be delivered from anything until now. The Military experience was hell, but prison seemed like Dante's 5th level of Hell. And from the looks of all the convicts dropping like flies from the hard labor in the everlasting looks of those farm fields out there, I thought, that the 9th level of Dante's Hell is something I want to avoid at all costs! But I have been a hard-headed individual all along my journey as a Christian and, but I have learned a great deal through God's punishments of my sinful conduct and God has taught me discipline. One might say it was late in your learning Ruben. Nevertheless, I learned that the Christian Walk is even harder than doing time in the worst of prison systems in the world. Can anyone imagine having to love your enemies as yourselves before becoming a Christian? How about having to Forgive your enemies that have done you really wrong as well? If it was difficult before, how hard is that to do now? Then you throw into this journey that propels one into this Christian Walk..., great and trying obstacles every day for years after years and all because they wanted a better life than the one, they are presently living. Without knowing that where they are headed, and what waits for them along that dark and mysterious unknown, is a path few heroes have returned from, with their great prize for going there in the first place. That is what a hero does, he or she sets at on a quest to find a Remedy not only for himself or herself but for others too. Call that remedy... an Elixer if one wants, but some like Joseph Campbell and others like him do believe that base metals can be turned into gold through faith in alchemical works like the idea of the Philosopher's Stone. I don't adhere to that nonsense, but I do believe that a process like that applies metaphorically to the spiritual transformation of a Christian once they change from being ignorant about Christianity and then Know who they are in Jesus. I believe that God can take low base metal like us figurately speaking and make us like Gold as the finish product through this transformative process! That is what people seek to alleviate, something that will help them attain a life-long goal to sustain them with whatever it is they are seeking. And at the same time will influence and encourage others to do the same. As a Christian now and understanding what the Christian journey is, all I can say about that is that it's the Best of all Journeys because we don't need nor depend on evil forces to help us along the way to our final destination and Eternal Salvation. We already possess our Healing Balm which of course is our Eternal Reward Jesus Christ. After all, He was the One who Called us to Himself from the miserable sinful condition that we were once in. Have you guys ever studied these heroes' path and wonder what it was all about before? Have you tried to weave all the threads or elements in the materials of the heroes lives that set them of on their journeys; in the first place? I have to inject here that my life has never known of a time when was ever bored with it. That is why I can never regret that I never graduated at the University even though I was 12 Credit hours away from a B.A. when I was sent to prison. Because while in prison and when I got out, I never have stopped seeking Truth and Wisdom. And even though I was at one time worse than the pagans in my sinful nature, I still loved Education. And I owe not only giving credit to the White People but to P.B.S. T.V. Station and for Bill Moyers and Charlie Rose and all the other programming on it that gave us the viewers great lessons about all facets of life for free. Some of you may remember Joseph Campbell's interview on Bill Moyers program way back in the late 80's about the Heroes Journey? Well, unlike Campbell's Monomyth Idea of this journey, the Christians journey is pact with the supernatural Divine Glory of God too, but that makes it the Loftiest and the Best of all kinds of Spiritual Journeys. Nonetheless, Campbell's... "Follow Your Bliss" philosophy on instructions for the hero on his journey is infected with the venomous idea about a quest towards achieving Materialism or Sexual Pleasures or ultimate Power for the seeker. However, this is not what the Christian Walk is about. Although he is right in that similarities do exist between the two in that that there is a call from a Divine source at beginning stages of the journey. It's true that the Hero is Called and he or she Answers reluctantly at first but answers, nonetheless. Then the Called One is told to go on the Quest into the unknown to retrieve a special item. This step is called the "Initiation Process" where the testing for qualification happens just like when a recruit enters a land not his own and one, he is definitely not familiar with just like Basic Training in the Army. Then in the Retrieving of the Special highly desired item wanted or needed, the Called One Returns Home completely Transformed from the Sinner that He or She was once into a Glorious Priest and high priest of the King of kings and a qualified and certified Warrior and Hero. This process is called The Return of the Hero or Called-One Returns. That is how I see our Walk with Jesus Christ even after all the years of trying to make it and having Faith in Him. All I know is that my journey... is not over just quite yet. Well, I have lived a long time and seen many people on this Journey walking through that great Wilderness in that hot sun and cold nights that transforms, even the meanest of fellows for the good or bad. However, not all of them made it through to the finish line and many failed at graduating stage. Others just plainly Deserted, or some went AWOL and are still trying to find their way back home. In closing, when I witness to the people like me now days, I tell them the whole Truth about this great and Terrible Journey back to God. And I tell people that the Greatest Hero that I ever saw or have seen on earth with my Eyes is... "Moses!"  Of all God's people this man Moses is the greatest of the Prophets of God. He is the epitome of the Classic Epic Story of our World history and of our times on heavy steroids. All the Prophets of God have brought to us, the descendants of Abraham, the Just and Right, the Elixer for all that ails us. Moses is my hero though! He brought to us from way deep in the desert Living Waters by which all Believers in Christ Jesus believe and are sustained. The next Evangelist high on my list for great hero is John Bunyan and his great Hero's Journey in the story about "Pilgrim's Progress!" How can anyone beat that! Hold on a change is coming! So Let Sleep On That for now. Thanks again. P.S. And as for the best Animated Movie feature describing this Hero's Journey for me...is, "Rango!"                                                                                                                              Respectfully,                                                                                                                                               Ruben n. Gutierrez