Free 'Tobe'

​I was driving down the road the other day and in front of me was a van with the license plate that read, “FREETOBE.” I read this as, “Free Tobe.” I wondered, “Who is Tobe?” Then after a minute of pondering this, I read the tag again. And this time I read it as, “Free To Be.” Oh yes, this makes much more sense! We are all free to be exactly who we are. In this freedom, we can define or re-define who we are in each moment.
 
With Memorial Day having just happened, it is a good reminder that in this country of America we have many freedoms because of our soldiers and veterans. One of the things I honor most about our soldiers and veterans is how this new idea arising of the ‘ensemble hero’ comes quite naturally to them. In my work with the Hero’s Journey Foundation® (HJF), and through it being connected with the Joseph Campbell Foundation® (JCF), I am learning that the new myth or story that is arising in our culture and being called to our attention is a shift from the One Hero to the Ensemble Hero. This simply means that no ‘hero’ goes it alone, or by himself or herself. There is always help and support surrounding him/her in some form or fashion. Our soldiers and veterans know this very well firsthand. Their platoon, or group they belong to, becomes their family. Every member is an essential part of the whole and they come to rely on one another.
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​We can look at large scale ensembles—countries and the world and beyond. Or we can look at small scale ensembles—families and groups of friends, for example. 'The Ensemble' can also be related to ecosystems and root systems. The birch for example communicates through its root system, so if one side of the forest is in danger, the other side of the birch forest will ‘know’ of this through the communication in the root system. But the most vital element that I feel we take to heart is this theme or notion that, “I am an essential part of the whole.” Do you know that your life matters? Your life, your presence, your thoughts and actions matter. Your contributions, your work, your feelings matter. We are all essential members of a whole, of the ensemble.
 
This new myth or story also dispels the old myth that we have to do things alone. One example of this old story is, “I have to do this journey/work/task on my own, without help.” My mentor, Michael Mervosh (excecutive director of HJF) says, “One must learn to know the difference between journeying for oneself vs. journeying by oneself.” In journeying by oneself, we are trying to do it all and alone. In journeying for oneself, it is only we who can take our journey, but we do not do it alone. Instead we reach out for support and receive the many synchronicities and ways that others extend them self to us, including the plant and animal kingdoms.
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So it is essential that we surround our selves with vibrant and healthy communities of people and land/environments, so that through the Ensemble we can acknowledge our life as meaningful. And then we can journey onward, Free to Be the hero of our own life. 

Written by Janet Wepner
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Hero's Journey Foundation®

​“We’re not on our journey to save the world, but to save ourselves. But in doing that you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes.
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A vital person vitalizes the world.”
                                              ~Joseph Campbell