His thoughts were stimulated by the book ‘The hero with a thousand faces’ by Joseph Campbell and I was able to relate them to my own life and also to the relationships which WER and I have with our partner organisations around the world.
Campbell states that our lives are one overall story made up of many phases. Life starts with the ‘call to adventure’ and proceeds to include such phases as the ‘refusal of the call’, where the person refuses to enter through the door of adventure and move beyond the status quo. Those starting out on the journey are soon faced with ‘the road of trials.’
I was reminded of the passage from ‘As you like it.’
All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven stages…
I believe our lives have a beginning, middle and an end and, as a Christian, I am confident that my end is not just centred in this world but in a HOPE beyond this mortal stage, beyond the simply human end.
But I am responsible for today and accountable for yesterday. So it can be helpful to use these thoughts to ask ourselves:
- Who am I really?
- Where am I?
- What needs to change?
- Where am I in other people’s stories?
Am I, in my relationships and in my work, holding someone back or am I being a mentor and source of encouragement to those I meet and touch in my day-to-day life?
I think of some of the mentors in my life, some of whom made an immediate difference and others whose impact initially appeared to be smaller but in reality was just as significant. Bob Gordon, David Ndaruhutse, Campbell McAlpine, Tom Okello, Penny Relph and Peter Wilson to name a few and of course my father David Haxton. Heroes who have inspired me include Nelson Mandela, David Ndaruhutse and my wife Rita.
I ask myself, am I in the way of people’s progress? I pray that WER is a facilitative and mentoring force for good and not a hindrance. I like to think of my role with my staff and with the partners we work with in Africa, Eastern Europe and elsewhere as someone playing a part in the emergence of new mentors and heroes.
As a Christian I am glad that there is no such thing as a retired Christian. God has work for us all to do; we just have to recognize our roles in each story, in each part and phase.
