Okay folks. We are here. The big moment. The final ordeal. If is sounds like I'm being epic, I am.
Our Heroine has come so far down this journey and yet, she needs to do one more thing: sacrifice herself.
It is the key moment of our hero proving she is a hero. The last step in her journey is to face something she knows will kill her. She knows this because she has lived in this special world for so long that she already knows the dangers she is going to face AND SHE GOES TO FACE THEM ANYWAY.
Why you might ask? For the greater good.
See, the hero has been through the flames before, the Supreme Ordeal, but that struggle was only for the betterment of her alone. The resurrection of the story is the hero realizing that she is the only person who can do this, and using the knowledge of the world so far, fights an evil that has been plaguing the whole world (or their special world). The resurrection of the story is the hero changing from warrior to martyr and in that change, healing the world around her.
What comes out of it is an elixir that is going to make the entire world a better place. Now, this elixir might be a peaceful nation, a healing potion, or knowledge that the entire village (and the reader) gains for the hero's sacrifice. And if Black Friday taught me nothing, its that everything has a price. The hero's willingness to sacrifice is the price paid. Don't go thinking that she has paid with their life. No! She is still kicking at the end of the book (most of the time).Now, everyone's dragon/witch/beastie is going to look a bit different. For example: one of the best resurrection scenes I've seen in a comedy is the end of ACCEPTED, with Justin Long and Jonah Hill. Bartleby has to stand up to a school board wanted to shut down his college to defend his right to a passion-filled education and he wins, allowing his school to stay open and for all students to be able to fulfill their own dreams. Its a pretty awesome elixir for a very funny movie.
Not everyone has to face down Sauron, but there are so many ways to be a hero in today's world, even if your sacrifice only changes a few people's lives, you've done something truly heroic.
I've been watching a lot of John and Hank Green videos and I think this holiday season is the perfect time to throw down a little gauntlet. I challenge you to be heroic and decrease world suck! You can start small, with small sacrifices, even our heroine had to build-up to dragon fighting.
But who knows, maybe this time next year, you'll be writing a blog of your year of living heroically.
Until next year my friends,
Amanda Arista
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Author, Diaries of an Urban Panther
www.amandaarista.com
1 comment:
Another awesome post, Amanda! I've been enjoying this post series, the Year of Living Heroically so much. And an excellent gauntlet to throw down for all of us with the Season of Crazy about to descend again. :)
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