Bring It On 2022

---

So that’s it. That’s the year. 2021 came in with Covid vibes and is leaving in the same manner. It’s amazing to think about because really, what even is a year? Time is this man made construct that we use to measure our days, but there really isn’t much true essence to the measurements. So we look back at the 365 days that were and deem it a good year or a bad year. We think about all of the things that we are going to move forward with or improve upon from last year. We beat the drums and sound the trumpets as we go marching ever forward towards our eventual and inescapable doom.

Happy New Year, indeed.

Alright so I’m not that dark and dreary heading into the holiday season. It’s true that I had some big plans to return to New York for the holidays to see family that got dashed to bits by Omicron, but after three days of chills and profuse sweating I think I’m starting to see things a little more clearly.

In truth, it seems to have been a pretty good year for me. I put a large focus on my physical therapy business and career and it has paid off. I hit financial goals in June, upgraded them and then hit them again. I’ve created a network of professional referrals who are sending me more business than I know what to do with. And even though it won’t really show up on my end of the year analysis, I feel like I’ve significantly helped some people. That feels pretty good.

I also had this moment that I want to call, stepping into my kingship. A while back I read a book about pagan archetypes. An archetype is like a typical example of someone or something. Think about a hero or villain or princess or such roles we see in different forms of media. You take the mold and throw your own flare into the concoction, but it’s more or less based on a few specific ideals. Well this book took a look at masculine archetypes and how in the modern and less tribal living world, we don’t really recognize our growth and transformation from one archetype to another.

The archetype that I was specifically interested in with this book was the king, or maybe more specifically, the transformation into the king. Nobody is born a king. You’re born a prince at best. You then go through your childhood, your training, in this instance of medieval-like culture most likely some warrior training, and only when all of this is completed can you become king. To pick from my heavy pool of references, “Aragorn” of Lord of the Rings doesn’t become King until he’s a proven warrior. So steps need to be taken.

But what are the steps? This is all well and good but how do you get to your throne?

What makes a king?

Something that I found incredibly insightful in this book of pagan lore was the attention to ritual. Each chapter was dedicated to a certain archetype and with it had different ceremonies for honoring and assuming the role of whichever archetype you were stepping into. Now you might think that everybody wants to be a king, but that is not true, or at least, that is not what I have found. Not even in my own heart and mind.

The typical archetype preceding the king is that of the warrior. The warrior is about his business. He is about his life’s goals and defeating his monsters and demons, whatever they may be. In these quests, the warrior is free to roam as he will. He is untethered by those surrounding him. He may have moments where he steps into a particularly altruistic state where he sacrifices himself or risks greatly for the safety of others, but it is all in the name of the quest. It is one great act that, in his mind, should make things right. Some would prefer to stay in their warrior archetype. It allows freedom to roam.

The King is different.

Assuming the mantle of King, you no longer have the luxury of sacrificing yourself or your current happiness for the sake of someone else, because as King, you are responsible for all of those around you. You are unwavering, immovable and firmly cemented at your throne where you can make decisions that, for better or worse, will greatly affect the people around you.

So in order to be a King, you’ve got to be balanced.

You’ve got to be measured. You’ve got to be stable. You’ve got to be sure of yourself. And in a world where things seem to be changing pretty significantly on a day-to-day basis, that last part is a little unsettling. And maybe it's not fair to think of this time period as any different than any other time there has been since the beginning. I’m sure that people of the golden generation thought that the end might be near during World War II. I assume those that lived through the Black Plague that wiped out over half of Europe’s population were pretty sure they were experiencing an apocalyptic event. Even the comparisons of Covid to the Spanish Flu seem to reflect a human ego that constantly needs to place itself at the center of all happenings.

So it's not fair to put off my Kingship because it doesn’t seem like a good time to do it. Most of our great stories talk about people being pressed into service rather than desiring it. That seems to be one of the reasons our political system is so messed up. I mean, would you ever trust anybody who looked you dead in the eye and said without even a hint of sarcasm that they wanted to be the president? You’d most likely write them off as a loony and be about your business.

Whether it’s sought after or sneaks up on us, responsibility and power befitting a King tends to show up in life.

Maybe not in the governing of nations and a great many people, but at the very least in the governing of your own life. That’s the Kingship I feel called to. An autonomy of the self. Because while the warrior follows order and does what he is called to do, the King actually has to ask himself what he should do.

What direction do I want to go?

What do I want to make time for?

What is important to me?

It’s a great freedom but at the same time a terrible responsibility. Jack Kerouac once referred to his life as a vast glowing empty page where he could do anything he wanted to. That’s incredibly liberating. It’s also terrifying. Going left means not going right and as you make one decision, you’ll never really know where the other road may have led. But Kings don’t dwell on the decisions that they didn’t make. They commit mind, body and soul to the decisions that they do make. That’s the kind of King I want to be in the upcoming year.

In 2022, I’ll be working on my crown, no matter what road lies before me.

---

Did you enjoy this read?

Please leave a comment below and share the link!

---

RECENT ARTICLES

---