The Inner Call to More

Hello and Greetings!

In this post, we continue our introductory series to the blog, and I wanted to talk about something quite important. It’s probably what has brought you here or keeps bringing you here…

Today, we’re going to talk about the inner call to more.

For some, it’s a tug or an inner knowing. For others, it’s a still, small voice in the depths of your soul, emerging from the inner parts of you that you suppress, bury, invalidate, and dismiss with the help of inner critics and societal expectations.

Yes, we have responsibilities. We have things that we have to take care of because failure to do so would be catastrophic in some ways—we could lose our house and our families. We would possibly lose self-respect, and it would ruin our reputation. So, to be realistic, we do all we can to shove this inner voice further down, driving it deeper into the darkness and locking it away.

However, it just doesn’t seem to relent. It doesn’t stop.

Let me give two examples. And these examples are just two of thousands upon thousands. And I think it’s vital that we pay attention and take heed of the stories we tell ourselves because it is in these stories that we learn about ourselves, the world around us and our place in it. So, even if the stories I will use as examples are commercialised and packaged to sell merchandise, let’s not lose the essence of what is being said or conveyed.

And by stories, I mean folktales and cautionary tales - not propaganda or news stories - although they are stories, too. They are stories that we tell ourselves about what and who we should fear through dehumanisation. But that’s a whole other story for another day!)

These are examples of an inner call to ‘more’ - the beginning of every Hero’s Journey. [if you don’t know what The Hero’s Journey is, it’s a story ‘template’ discovered and developed by mythologist Joseph Campbell about an individual who goes on an adventure, overcomes challenges and crises, emerges victorious and returns home transformed. - if you want me to do a video on this, let me know in the comments below. It’s literally my favourite thing!

OK, let’s get to the examples.

Elsa’s Call to More in Frozen 2 is the first one that sticks with me. The film starts out with her living with her family. She is the beloved Ice Queen of Arundel, and everything seems to be going well. But we can see (and sense) that all is not well with the queen.

So, in the scene, she goes to bed, shuts her eyes, and then,, hears it.

A song.

It’s a faint, distant, ethereal song.

She sits up, and we understand from her reaction that it’s not the first time she’s heard this ‘song’. She tries to ignore it, push it away, push it down, but the song is relentless. It keeps going. And the thing is, she’s the only one that can hear it.

The ‘song’ (which is actually her own, but she had managed to suppress it so much that it becomes disembodied - my theory) only stops when she embodies it and acknowledges it as her own.

So, what happens next is the magnificent rendition of Into the Unknown. I highly recommend you watch it on YouTube—it’s stunning. It’s got about 634 million views—about 50 of those are mine! LOL!).

The second example is from Moana (which is a mixture of actual Polynesian Origin myths). This is another beautiful example of a call to more that’s wrapped up in social and familial expectations.

In the opening song, ‘Where You Are,’ we see Moana’s father, the chief of her village, explaining the expectations that are upon her, which involve her staying where she is. Not only will people need her, but she will also have all she needs and will not need to seek anything further.

No one leaves.

They are well-provided and safe. And Moana’s father, in the song, says she must learn, just as he did, that ‘happiness is where you are’.

What I find interesting is that even as a baby, we see that Moana is different, and she is drawn to the sea and the world outside of the safety that her father is paining. So Moana has a pull, but the influence (and her love for her parents and her desire to obey)is strong. But, and here is the juicy part, her pull comes not as a distant song but in the form of another person—her grandmother.

Her grandmother is someone that everyone considers crazy and one that drifts too far. And through all the commotion and busyness of village life, her grandmother is often away from the maddening crowd, in a place of solitude, dancing with the water and the waves. But she confirms something within her. Moana’s grandmother says to her:

You are your father’s daughter, stubbornness and pride,

Mind what he says, but remember

You may have a voice inside

And if that voice starts to whisper, to follow the furthest star

Moana, that voice inside you is who you are.

Of course, what follows is a beautiful story of a girl who returns home, a fierce and courageous warrior who leads her people with boldness, beauty, and so much wisdom and love.

So, what am I saying?

We may not be Disney princesses, queens, and chiefs…we are workers, mothers, fathers and citizens with responsibilities and burdens. I would argue that we ARE the heroes in our stories. And maybe your artist journey…those paints, papers, ideas, sketches…the art that has always fired you up and lit you up is the song calling you. And no matter how much you squash it down in the darkness…I think it will keep calling to you.

Until you answer.

So, until we gather again, move towards your dream - one step at a time - no matter how small.