Currently I am in the midst of facilitating The Artist Way with a group in Malaga.  I’ve read the book and led the course many times.  Author Julia Cameron encourages readers to let go of old things that do not serve you. This includes tattered clothes or other belongings taking up real estate in your home.  After we accomplish this, we reflect on what do we want in our lives.  Could we form a special sacred place in our home that’s solely for creating?  It’s not a pure minimalism mentality, of ridding a majority of our belongings to live more simply.  We are ridding ourselves of things no longer serves us.  In turn we create space and can explore what do we want in our lives.  We need for a pilgrimage let go to let in.

The Hero’s Journey

  Let go to let in is necessary in pilgrimages. When the hero goes on his or her journey, they must let go of the comforts of home to embark into an adventure which is full of unknowns.  One of Joseph Campbell’s most infamous quotes is “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

 Letting go can be scary.  We may have attachments to our belongings, home, community, and people.  They are familiar and comfortable, even if we may not be fully content with these situations, we know what to expect.  To let go is to chance.  There is risk involved, versus safety and security that we are surrounded with.  How do we know if this is the right thing to do?

The Unknown

The answer is you don’t know.

What is being asked of us is to trust. 

Trust that the process will give you answers.  

Growth happens in the unknown.

According to Jospeh Campbell’s work on The Hero’s Journey, this first step is A Call to Adventure.  Our ordinary lives are disrupted.  According to the image below, which I had taken from Wikipedia, all of the pilgrimage occurs in the world of the unknown.  We must let go to let in.  This is where our journey resides, and where transformation takes place.  It requires a lot of us, but also gives so much back in return. 

Therefore in pilgrimage let go is to let in.  Whatever that means for you: letting go of toxic people, situations, jobs, belongings, or the comfort of your living room.  We must take the risk of venturing outside of our comfort zone, and this is where the reward lies. 

For a deeper dive into this Hero’s Journey, check out this page https://www.tlu.ee/~rajaleid/montaazh/Hero%27s%20Journey%20Arch.pdf .  To explore more Joseph Campbell inspirational quotes, check out one of my previous blog posts here https://amodernpilgrimage.com/top-25-joseph-campbell-journey-quotes/