(Ch. 64 — the FINAL CHAPTER of my summer storyblog about my journey into Deafhood…)

“Each one of us is destined to become the hero in at least one story – our own.”

~ Joseph Campbell

While Joseph Campbell explained and popularized “the hero’s journey” in his book, The Hero With 1,000 Faces, the concept of the hero’s journey is an ancient one. Like the mythical Phoenix who sets itself on fire and then rises from its own ashes, born anew, the hero’s story is one of birth, death and resurrection. Each of us receives a call to adventure sometime in our lives.

As deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, deaf-blind or hearing individuals with deaf parents or families, everything that comes our way in life, our everyday occurrences, can be seen as a call to adventure. We are all heroes in our own journey and story of deafhood. We are all searching to find our way through and beyond…

Looking at what it means to be deaf is the kind of adventure that offers us the possibility of significant transformation and personal growth. All of our interactions with other people can be seen as opportunities to help or be helped by them, or to thwart them or be threatened by them. Though we may not have a choice about the path that we travel, we do have the choice of how we travel. We can journey with openness, courage and acceptance, or we can journey with resistance, defensiveness or fear.

“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
~ Helen Keller

Any sort of transformation we go through, individually or collectively as a group, is a kind of hero’s journey. Whether you are exploring concepts of deafhood, entertaining new ideas, giving new meaning to old labels, protesting, advocating, losing your hearing, or going through any kind of personal or group transformation, we are all heroes on a great adventure!

The hero’s journey can be physical or emotional, tangible or intangible. The cycle of the hero’s journey usually encompasses the following:

The hero

• begins an ordinary life
• encounters separation or departure
• is called to adventure
• encounters a helper
• crosses the threshold of adventure and enters another world
• undergoes tests and meets obstacles
• meets more helpers
• realizes peak experiences and has a breakthrough
• returns from the ordinary life as a hero with boon (wisdom) to share

Beginning our Ordinary Lives: Each of us began a self-perceived “ordinary” existence. People who were born deaf or hard of hearing viewed themselves as normal (regardless of how they were perceived by others). Late-Deafened adults were born into an ordinary “hearing” existence and grew up in a world of sound.

Separation and Departure: Somewhere along the line, we experienced a separation or departure from the ordinary. Something changed. Labels were put upon us, or there was a threat, death or loss of something dear. A change had occurred — through oppression, rejection, illness, injury, aging or unknowns — that caused us to lose our ground, challenge our ways or self-perception, or lose our identity suddenly or gradually.

The Call to Adventure: Suddenly, there were opportunities or unexpected experiences that presented themselves in our lives. Perhaps we were invited to stand up, make an outcry and be heard. Maybe there were invitations to other realms or perspectives. In some way, we were individually or collectively “called to adventure.” We were invited or required to transform.

Photo by: Parc Cruz

Helpers: Along our journey, we find guides who help us meet the obstacles along the way – allies, mentors, parents, relatives, friends, teachers, authors, coaches, religious leaders, famous people, pets, anyone who is on our side. We meet the angels in our corner who help us cross the threshold of this adventure and enter a new world or way of being.

Trials and Tests: On our journey in this new world, we are tested or challenged — mentally, physically, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually. We may feel different, alienated, left out, oppressed or out of step with others. Maybe some of us feel we are neither here nor there, perpetually stuck in between two worlds — caught in the stronghold of barred cages or sticky word-webs — unable to move forward, or lost in the whirlwind of labels. We may find ourselves in the belly of the whale experiencing dark nights of the soul. At times being deaf in a hearing world feels like the worst thing we could possibly deal with. We have trials and tests and dragons to slay. We wonder how we can survive. At this point we may meet more supportive guides and helpers. Or we may encounter a breakthrough on our own.

Transformation: There is a breakthrough. We begin having peak experiences that awakens us or changes us significantly. It may be sudden or gradual. We begin to ask ourselves what we have learned and how this experience has transformed us. We eventually overcome our fears and grow more comfortable in our new skin. We begin mastering new skills that enable us to meet our daily challenges with self-confidence and empowerment.

Achieving the Boon: The spiritual qualities and personal skills we develop as a result of our journey and transformation provides us with new wisdom and insight about ourselves and each other. We have learned how to be comfortable with ourselves and with our everyday world. We recognize that we have new wisdom to share with others and we can foresee making positive contributions to the world. Perhaps we will now become a helper, guide or friend in someone else’s journey. Perhaps we will tell them our tale as a way to offer healing and hope.

Sometimes the best guidance, wisdom or gift we can give to someone else is our own story, truly told.

Writing your own story about any of your personal transformations is a journey of deep, personal discovery — a spiritual quest. With the ears and eyes of our heart, we probe the inner most realms of our soul. It is an act of self-knowing, a way to understand and come to terms with our deepest experiences, see the mystery of ourselves, and make sense of our place in the world.

On that infamous day on 9/11, from a deep need to seek spiritual connection and give meaning to my life, I first began crafting my own hero’s tale of suddenly becoming deaf 26 years ago at the age of 17, and the transformative tale of finding my way in life thereafter. Writing my story became a daily ritual that nourished my spirit. I was surprised with glimpses of truths I had not realized or known about myself until I wrote them down. Writing my story became a revelation. My computer screen became a window to my soul, and I often found God looking back at me in its reflection.

Deciding when and how to articulate and share our stories is the ultimate call. I have drawn upon metaphors, images, photographs, symbols, quotations and song lyrics to express my personal experiences along my own heroic journey. I have used journals, e-mail, newsletters, newspapers, stages, websites, blogs and vlogs as forums to tell of my life adventures and transformations along my journey of deafhood. From these tales, I am now crafting a book. I have narrated rhythmical stories of my past, scribed extraordinary tales of separation from the ordinary, recorded my calls to adventure, and I am now sharing insights and wisdom I have learned along the way.

Writing my story has allowed me to embrace my new identity — my deaf self — and to honor the person I have become. The self-awareness we gain from telling our stories is, in and of itself, healing and transforming.

Perhaps to find ourselves, we must first lose ourselves. Like the Phoenix, we must die in order to be born anew. We all share the universal experience of loss, the same joys and tragedies, the same ambiguities and struggles. The tale of birth, death and resurrection/rebirth is a common theme in many spiritual and cultural traditions that repeats itself in everyone, everywhere, everyday, whether deaf, hard of hearing, late-deaf, deaf-blind or hearing. We are all heroes searching for meaning, purpose, identity and truth. We are all leaving, seeking, finding and longing to return home where we belong.

We need stories and heroes like we need water and air. They quench our thirst for adventure and sustain us in our times of need. They give us the breath of hope.

Enjoy the journey ~

(*Thank you all for reading my summer storyblog. If you would like to know more about how you can purchase my book and the full story of My Journey Into Deafhood, please contact me by leaving a comment below or by clicking the CONTACT ME button on the side bar of this blog. Peace ~ LaRonda)

Posted by LaRonda on Wednesday, August 8th, 2007 at 4:30 am.