If you want resurrection, you must have crucifixion.
The hoarder, the one in us that wants to keep,
to hold on, must be killed.
In The Shawshank Redemption, the character Red, a prisoner played by Morgan Freeman, is like a Zen student who, at regular intervals, goes in front of the roshi (in this case, the parole board), to make his case for why he should receive their approval. Year after year, Red goes in and plays the same game of trying to game the system, and each year he is rejected. At long last, after many failed attempts, his facade has worn away. He can no longer animate his bullshit persona; he’s too tired for the same old song and dance. This time, he goes in front of the board and, instead of reciting his well-rehearsed BS, he tells them the truth, something zenny, like:
“I don’t know what you want to hear. I don’t know if I deserve to return to society or if I even want to. I’m a lot older now than that stupid kid who made those bad decisions and ended up here so long ago. (That kid’s long gone and this old man is all that’s left.) Let me go or not, there is not that within me that even cares anymore.”
Log In or Register to Continue
"The conquest of fear yields the courage of life.
That is the cardinal initiation of every heroic adventure,
fearlessness and achievement."
Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) was an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His most famous concept is the “monomyth” or “hero’s journey,” outlined in his landmark book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). He argued that myths from cultures across the world share a fundamental narrative pattern in which a hero ventures forth, undergoes trials, achieves transformation, and returns with wisdom or gifts for the community. Campbell’s ideas have profoundly influenced literature, psychology, and especially film, most famously, Star Wars. His work continues to inspire storytellers, spiritual seekers, and students of myth around the world.