Awe is What Moves us Forward

By Joseph Campbell

“We’re not on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves. But in doing that, you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes.”

—Joseph Campbell

Opportunities
to find deeper powers
come when life 
seems most challenging.

Negativism
to the pain and ferocity of life
is negativism to life. 

We are not there
until we can say
"yea" to it all.

To take a righteous attitude
toward anything is to denigrate it. 

Awe is what moves us forward. 

As you proceed through life,
following your own path,
birds will shit on you.
Don't bother to brush it off. 

Getting a comedic view 
of your situation
gives you spritual distance. 
Having a sense of humor saves you. 

The goal is to live
with godlike composure
on the full rush of energy,
like Dionysus riding the leopard,
without being torn to pieces.

A bit of advice
given to a young Native American
at the time of his initiation:

"As you go the way of life,
your will see a great chasm.

Jump.

It is not as wide as you think."

You can find this passage in Joseph Campbell’s fantastic book — Reflections on the Art of Living.