Abyss as Call and Crisis, not The End
Excerpt from not Super but Human
In my framework, the Abyss is not restricted to traditional placement. In the Hero’s Journey formulated by Joseph Campbell and later adapted by Christopher Vogler, the Abyss takes place at the climax of the journey after completing their trials. While this is effective for myth and film, real life does not allow the Abyss to be predicted at any point. Nor is there the certainty that only one Abyss situation will occur on the journey of the Everyday Hero.
My personal journey started with the Abyss. The Abyss, my hospitalization due to my suicidal thoughts, could also have been considered my Call to Adventure. However, in my journaling, I maintained separate journaling scenarios to demonstrate the Call to Adventure and the Abyss. My reason for this was to clearly describe and demonstrate the different stages of the Hero’s Journey.
This has guided how I personally see the Abyss, that the supreme ordeal may occur at any stage of the Hero’s Journey. That’s why, in my figure for the stages of the Everyday Hero’s Journey, I have the cracks and rifts outside the boundaries of the stages of the Hero’s Journey representing the Abyss. We may be called to face our greatest challenges no matter where we are on our path, including the catalyst for the journey. Moments that lead to questioning one’s existence have the potential to stall someone from accepting their Call to Adventure due to the anxiety faced. Our challenges may climax at the end of our trials. Identity may be challenged in choosing a false mentor, one that actively harms the hero’s growth through using the mentorship to serve their own purposes. The struggle with symbolic death of an old identity or loss of relationships could lead to grief when reconciling rebirth into a new identity. The Return Home holds specific challenges as well in the hero returning to a world that has not yet changed, such as an individual in recovery experiencing a Relapse when returning to old environments without placing effective boundaries.
This is consistent when linking the concept of boundary situations to Joseph Campbell’s ‘the Belly of the Whale’ section of the Hero’s Journey. In myth, the hero crossing beyond the threshold signifies the rebirth of the hero (Campbell, 2008). They do not conquer the threshold but are consumed by it. This creates the illusion the hero has died. Though, rather than the hero having died, it is their previous identity that no longer serves them as they encounter the threshold guardians. They leave the boundaries of their known world having transformed. This aligns with a boundary situation, that encountering the concept of death is the catalyst for awareness of how one lives life (Yalom, 1980). Boundary situation and the Belly of the Whale both provide explanations of how confrontation with death and the symbolic rebirth prepares the hero to embark on their journey.
On this journey, the hero has the potential to experience multiple encounters in which they face challenges greater than the rest of their trials. What differentiates these crises is the severity of the challenge, and the hero being confronted with a form of death, whether it be physical or symbolic. Symbolic death represents death of the ego, or loss of an aspect of their identity they once held. However, with symbolic death comes the opportunity for rebirth and greater understanding. With physical death being confronted, the hero may face the importance of their life and the weight that their decisions hold.
Normalizing the sporadic and recurring potential of the Abyss is crucial for validating the experience of the Everyday Hero. Shame isn’t necessary when experiencing crisis depending on when on their journey it’s experienced. A Relapse doesn’t mean the Everyday Hero is weak. A false mentor is not a reflection on the hero. Reluctance in Accepting the Call is normal. Difficulty reconciling growth and transformation doesn’t mean the new identity is flawed.
In the Return Home, the Everyday Hero may struggle, and the process of reconciling personal changes with a stagnant world holds the potential to be its own Call to Adventure. As life continues, new journeys are ever-present. So, too, are the challenges that mold the hero through facing the darkest facets of themselves, others, and existence. Death is constant and inevitable, but there is untapped potential so long as the hero continues choosing to live life as if today matters.
Read from the beginning and start your journey
References
Campbell, J. (2008). The hero with a thousand faces. Joseph Campbell Foundation.
Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. Basic Books.