The Hero's Journey Inward - Meridian Passage Wellness

The Hero’s Journey Inward

I recently went to a retreat with a group of veterans and first responders. I don’t do this type of work often and find that it finds me when the time is right. In retrospect, the group that gathered provided an excellent container for processing through so much of what we are experiencing as a culture and a nation.

This group spent a week deep in the interior of Colorado, spending time with healing medicine and community. Before diving into these kinds of experiences, we form intentions. In reality, the medicine seems to take us where it will, despite our own desires for a path. My own intentions were loosely tied to how I wish to navigate the world and how to stay connected to an anchor when seas get rough. Par for the course, the medicine took me on a far deeper journey.

How to be of service in the midst of chaos

It’s no surprise that current events would play a large part of my experience that week. It’s also no surprise that a group of people that identify very intimately with the idea of service would create such a powerful container for how to be of service when the world feels like it’s on shaky ground.

While I’ve worked on so much of my own “stuff,” there are always layers left to peel back both personally and in the higher context of finding meaning in this human experiment as a whole. In many ways, it can be scary (“holy shit, where did that come from?”), enlightening (“I thought I was done with that”), and transformative (“I didn’t know I needed that, but here we are!”). Despite all my personal goals or intentions, I believe the real value came from sitting with others throughout the experience — people with their own stories, grief, breakthroughs, and wisdom.

Service over self?

We are taught in many service professions — military, first responders, law enforcement — that it is service over self. If you think about it, that’s not really a sustainable model. What good does it do to sacrifice oneself to the cause and lose the very thing that makes your service meaningful — which is you? That sacrifice doesn’t just impact the individual; it ripples outward, affecting families and communities. Outcomes like domestic violence, substance abuse, and suicide remain statistically higher among veterans and first responders, and we need to ask ourselves why.

When I have experiences like this one in Colorado, I realize there’s much work to be done. But more importantly, they remind me that there are people stepping up to do that work — not just for themselves, but for their communities. They’re learning, as I am, that healing isn’t just a personal journey — it’s a form of service in itself.

The Power of Myth

As part of my integration, I found myself picking up Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth again. I read it for the first time decades ago, and yet it’s still as relevant as ever. In the introduction, Bill Moyers writes of Campbell:

“Now he was describing the hero’s journey not as a courageous act but as a life lived in self-discovery, ‘and Luke Skywalker was never more rational than when he found within himself the resources of character to meet his destiny.'”

That line stuck with me — because we so often mistake the hero for the one who charges into battle, who sacrifices everything for the cause. But what if the real courage lies not in the charge, but in the turning inward? What if the path isn’t about conquest, but about connection — especially to the parts of ourselves we’ve had to bury in the name of survival?

Luke didn’t win because he overpowered his enemy. He won because he saw himself clearly. He recognized his shadow — and still chose integrity. This is not just cinematic metaphor. That’s the work. It’s what I see in every person who chooses to sit in ceremony, or therapy, or a moment of stillness instead of running from what hurts. And what I witnessed in Colorado: people choosing presence over performance. Choosing to heal, not hide.

This is the real hero’s journey. It doesn’t always come with glory, but it comes with truth. And in times like these, I can’t think of anything more necessary — or more radical — than that. This is the anchor I needed to help ground me in times of chaos.

Everyone is on a Hero’s Journey

It’s not lost on me how much this mirrors the healing journey I’ve witnessed in my time as a healthcare provider. I’ve seen it in people facing chronic or complex illnesses. That path, too, often begins with the hope of a quick fix or clear direction — and then veers into far more mysterious terrain. Illness, like deep emotional healing, demands that we slow down. It demands we listen inward, and confront what’s been hidden or unspoken for too long. It asks us to unlearn old patterns, to grieve versions of ourselves we thought we needed, and to build new ways of being — not just to survive, but to live fully.

Whether it’s healing from trauma, recovering from illness, or finding new ground after a life of service, the path forward is rarely linear. But the deeper I go, the more I believe that true healing — real, lasting transformation — begins when we stop trying to return to who we were and start becoming who we were meant to be all along.

As always, thank you for being part of this journey with me!

Be well,

Kristin/Rosie

Have a question for me?

Reach out at hello@meridianpassagewellness.com. Want a consult with me? Click here to schedule a one-on-one. I am a licensed Naturopathic Doctor and LAc offering medical care in Washington State. Additionally, I offer coaching services and case consults to those outside of Washington.