On the Subject of Mentors
The initiation of supernatural aid
In my last Medium post, I mentioned that a mentor showed himself to me as I answer the call to adventure. (If you’re just catching up, my first post talked about a writer’s hero’s journey … I thought I had already crossed the threshold but alas, I’m still prepping for the trip ahead.)
When one answers a call, Joseph Campbell explains to us in his works, fabulous forces step up to assist:
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder. Fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won.”
And oh, fabulous forces, they are coming for me. Like Joseph Campbell himself. Ralph Waldo Emerson, as my last post revealed.
And one of the most AMAZING mentors for writers, ever: Ray Bradbury.
Ray Bradbury quotes bring me to the blank page, every time. I could splatter all of them, everything he says, on my inspiration wall (doesn’t everyone have one of those?) and write them into my journals and scribble on post-it notes that I stick to my computer monitor. Like this one:
“You must write every single day of your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the next. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads.”
I hope this post, dreadfully dumb or glorious as it may be, fixes itself in your head and causes you to wrestle.
What are you doing to progress your writing? Are you writing every day? Are you reading like a madman? Are you lurking … well, none of us are spending too much time in libraries right now (thank you, Global Pandemic), but are you reading samples of books on your Amazon Kindle or at least surfing the digital shelves of your nearest library?
Supernatural aid comes at us as advice … input that is intriguing, guiding, helpful, encouraging, inspiring, convicting. It’s in what we read and what we hear and what we see. It’s delivered in moments that spark our souls into actions that feel authentic and right and validating and whole.
Supernatural aid reveals people we need to pay attention to and advice we need to take.
Are you being awakened? Is a call to adventure disrupting your life?
Is there a mentor, coming to you with supernatural aid, begging to get your attention?
Listen. Learn. Live.
