{"id":35469,"date":"2024-02-01T23:10:46","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T07:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=35469"},"modified":"2024-02-03T07:20:26","modified_gmt":"2024-02-03T15:20:26","slug":"treky-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/treky-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"Treky Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you a \u201cTreky?\u201d In the 1960s, the U.S. was deep into the space race, which created the perfect environment for the<\/span>\u00a0te<\/span>levision series Star Trek to gain popularity and capture the imagination of a nation. I visited the Museum of Pop Culture several years ago in Seattle, WA.\u00a0 Most memorable for me was the Star Trek exhibit.\u00a0 I am by no means a \u201cTrecky,\u201d but there was one part of the exhibit where we could create an episode of Star Trek.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With the same ease of ordering a sandwich from Subway, you could move down the line and select story elements from the provided list.\u00a0 By the end of the line, you had produced an episode of Star Trek complete with all the fundamental elements found in the popular 1960s television series. Reading The Hero With A Thousand Faces <\/i>gave me a similar vibe to experiencing Star Trek\u00a0 \u201cdeconstructed\u201d and its story reduced to 7 ingredients.\u00a0 <\/i>My overly simplified takeaway from Joseph Campbell\u2019s work: we are story creatures.\u00a0 We understand and experience our reality through stories, which is why myth seems to be the primary vehicle through which meaning is conveyed. [1]<\/p>\n

Campbell encourages readers to view parts of their own lives as heroic journeys, recognizing the \u201cMonomyth\u201d of their own story. [2] I did this using the steps of the Hero\u2019s Journey provided by Winslow. [3]<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Ordinary World<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Wake up. Drink Coffee. Read Bible. Kiss wife. Get kids ready for school.\u00a0 Go to the office.\u00a0 Solve problems.\u00a0 Come home. Enjoy family Dinner. Help with homework.\u00a0 Tuck in kids for bed. Watch Netflix with my wife. Go to bed. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. This was my \u201cnormal\u201d routine — My Ordinary World in 2018.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Call to Adventure:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      One day, I went to the doctor because of some discomfort in my abdomen.\u00a0 Some suggested \u201cAppendicitis,\u201d others said, \u201cKidney Stones, definitely kidney stones.\u201d\u00a0 However, after a thorough exam, the diagnosis was cancer.\u00a0 And so the adventure began.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Refusal of the Call:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        I never struggled to accept the diagnosis. But I did struggle to accept that cancer was now a part of my story.\u00a0 I mean, other people had cancer, not me. Surely not.\u00a0 I just couldn\u2019t imagine the whole chemo and hair loss thing. Was this how my story ended?<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Meeting the Mentor:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Within a week, we were flooded with well-intentioned people giving thousands of suggestions for treatment and comfort.\u00a0 However, meeting Dr. Lupnitz clarified everything.\u00a0 In a single hour-long meeting, he calmly walked me through what the next several months would look like.<\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Crossing the Threshold:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Two weeks after the diagnosis, I was checked into MD Anderson Cancer Hospital, receiving my first dose of chemotherapy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Tests, Allies, and Enemies:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              The first week of treatment proved the hardest.\u00a0 Feelings of loneliness, fear, and nausea.\u00a0 I remember imagining I was at the bottom of a mountain looking up, and I couldn\u2019t see the top but knew if I was going to survive, I had to get to the summit but continually questioned if I could.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Approach to the Inmost Cave:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                For me, the cave I came to was the character of God.\u00a0 At first, I was afraid to enter that cave, but I eventually found the treasure I was seeking within it.\u00a0 \u00a0If he allowed cancer to take my life, was he good?\u00a0 If he allowed cancer to take my life, would my children think he was good?\u00a0 Was I going to trust him? Was I going to believe he knew what he was doing?\u00a0 The treasure I emerged with was steadfast faith, convinced that God is completely good and trustworthy.<\/span> [4]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Ordeal:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  The most intense part of chemotherapy is definitely the physical toll on the body.\u00a0 The major doses of poison directly into the heart.\u00a0 The body’s response is to spread the poison throughout the body. Losing hair, losing taste, losing appetite, losing energy. Losing motivation. Losing joy. Praying \u201cCome Lord Jesus! Don\u2019t tarry!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Reward (Seizing the Sword):<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Having many of the idols and sources of joy stripped away forced me to find joy in Christ and the relationships he put in my life.\u00a0 I found deep meaning and satisfaction in depending on others, especially my church family.\u00a0 I also found the courage to be vulnerable and let the body of Christ take care of me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. The Road Back:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      Nearing the end of the chemotherapy, in some ways, I longed to return to the ordinary, but I had a whole new sense of what the ordinary should be.\u00a0 I knew the brevity of life, the priority of community, and the presence of Christ. While I wanted to taste coffee again, I didn\u2019t want to return to a life filled with distractions, keeping me from regularly experiencing his presence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                        \n
                      1. Resurrection:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                        Through my cancer\/chemo journey, I learned some things that I can\u2019t unlearn.\u00a0 I have been changed, and I can\u2019t go back. I now understand several threshold concepts, with a transformed understanding of health, nutrition, suffering, sanctification, and the necessary dependence that should exist in the body of Christ. [5]<\/span><\/p>\n

                          \n
                        1. Return with the Elixir:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                          I don\u2019t eat sugar anymore.\u00a0 One of the things I cannot unlearn is the devastating effects of added sugar in the Western diet and the correlation to cancer, among other health issues.\u00a0 Like sugar is to the body, individualism is to the soul.\u00a0 I learned the devastating effects of the American ideal of \u201cRugged Individualism.\u201d\u00a0 My NPO explores the connection between \u201cRugged Individualism\u201d and human languishing instead of flourishing.<\/span><\/p>\n

                          While it seemed at times Campbell \u201ccherry-picked\u201d from a variety of ancient myths to demonstrate the consistency of various elements, I think his concept of the \u201cMonomyth\u201d helps us understand the ingredients common in the stories that have shaped us.\u00a0 I also found \u201cThe Heroe\u2019s Journey\u201d and \u201cThreshold Concepts\u201d from our reading last week to identify aspects of transformation. Both use the concept of a \u201cRight of passage\u201d to frame the progression of change. As Campbell stated, \u201cThe standard path of the mythological adventure of the hero is a magnification of the formula represented in the rites of passage: separation \u2014 initiation \u2014 return: which might be named the nuclear unit of the monomyth.\u201d<\/span> [6]<\/span><\/p>\n

                          _________________________________________<\/p>\n

                          [1] \u00a0Campbell, Joseph. <\/span>The Hero with a Thousand Faces<\/span><\/i> (Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2020),19.<\/span><\/p>\n

                          [2] Campbell, <\/span>The Hero with a Thousand Faces, <\/span><\/i>365.<\/span><\/p>\n

                          [3] “The Monomyth (The Hero’s Journey): The Hero’s Journey” Grand Valley State University, accessed Feb. 2, 2024, http:\/\/libguides.gvsu.edu\/c.php?g=948085&p=6857311<\/span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

                          [4] James 1:2-4.<\/span><\/p>\n

                          [5] Meyer, J., & Land, R. Overcoming Barriers to Student Understanding: Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge <\/i>(London: Routledge, 2006), 3.<\/span><\/p>\n

                          [6] \u00a0Campbell, <\/span>The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 39.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

                           <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                          Are you a \u201cTreky?\u201d In the 1960s, the U.S. was deep into the space race, which created the perfect environment for the\u00a0television series Star Trek to gain popularity and capture the imagination of a nation. I visited the Museum of Pop Culture several years ago in Seattle, WA.\u00a0 Most memorable for me was the Star […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3023],"class_list":["post-35469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp03-campbell","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/194"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35469"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35512,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35469\/revisions\/35512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}