The mythologist Joseph Campbell wrote in The Hero with a Thousand Faces that there is a hero’s journey in every man, which acts as his initiation into manhood: “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: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man”.
The journey has a number of steps to it:
1. A “call to adventure”, which the hero must accept or decline
2. A “road of trials” on which the hero succeeds or fails
3. Achieving the goal or “boon”, which results in new self-awareness and knowledge
4. A “return to the ordinary world”, and finally
5. The “application of the boon” – the gift of insight the hero has gained – to improve the world around him
In plain terms: men must decide to act, to stand up for themselves, to explore their truths, to face the challenges of being a man – and to challenge others who deny them their journey by perpetuating the myths which leave them cowed.
Those who accept the challenge will have trials and tests of their character and determination, but if they pass them they will achieve new powers, strengths, and depths of understanding. They can then return to their lives with a new sense of who they are and the importance they have for the world. And then, to the benefit of us all, they can shine as men who stand for justice, order, balance, and truth.
The battle cry of the Knights Templar was “Be Glorious!” and this is what it means to be a real man: to be all that