The Air We Breathe
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In this MythBlast, The Air We Breathe, our own Stephen Gerringer presents us with connections between the current coronavirus pandemic crisis, climate change and the mythic power of breath. Here we have a disease which literally takes our breath away and has forced a large percentage of the world’s population to just stop. We’ve found ourselves quarantined and forced to find a different way of being as our daily routines have been shredded. One hopes this has resulted in some degree of global inward reflection as we take stock of our 21st Century lives. What have we been doing that so needs to change? Stephen points out that the earth’s atmosphere, the air we breathe, has cleansed itself as our cars, factories, airplanes and the rest of our internal combustion world have minimized or gone idle.
It’s only natural that our human capacity for structure puts these continuing events into the form of a narrative. And from there, one can’t but think of the journey of the hero, but on an epic scale as it puts us on some quest both inwardly and collectively.
In my capacity as the Rights and Permissions Manager of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, I have been in regular correspondence with publishers all over the world during this crisis from Seoul to Milan to Sophia, St Petersburg, Kuwait City, and Beijing. Every email, without exception, has contained wishes for safety and good health as we all go through this unprecedented moment together.
There’s so much more we can address here, including and not the least of which are the many “essential workers” who have continued to work and have suffered higher infection rates as a result. This is another area in which we need to rethink our new norm.
I would question Stephen, though, for his thoughts on this moment as a call to adventure.
Great article Stephen. And great question Michael on The Call To Adventure. With these current disruptions forcing many to break from their everyday routines, maybe million or billions of people are now facing a (reluctant) Call at the moment?
Phillip S (Previously OliveBranch on the old forums)
Thanks, Michael, for initiating this conversation and providing an opportunity to explore in greater depth the mythological ramifications of the present moment.
What is happening on a global scale is so huge and beyond any one of us that events tend to swamp the individual psyche – or, at least, that’s what happened for me. I like to think of myself as calm, cool, collected, flexible enough to “go with the flow” – but in this instance I felt overwhelmed and adrift, unable to find my footing.
When that happens, I have learned to turn to myth for guidance:
If you live with the myths in your mind, you will find yourself always in mythological situations. They cover everything that can happen to you. And that enables you to interpret the myth in relation to life, as well as life in relation to myth.
(“Elders and Guides: An Interview with Joseph Campbell,” Parabola, Vol. V No. 1, February 1980, p.59)
Joe knows whereof he speaks. There are many ways to do that. For me, that takes the form of latching on to one key archetypal image – in this instance, the mythology of Breath. Given space considerations, there is only so much ground one can cover in a MythBlast; I hope to expand on this motif over the course of this discussion.
Another invaluable mythological approach is to view what is happening, on both the individual and the collective scale, through the lens of the Hero’s Journey. On a personal level, even just venturing out to buy groceries without exposing oneself to the coronavirus requires slaying a number of dragons. But I am fascinated by the point you make: everyone on the planet is going through this together (whether we want to or not). The pandemic is happening to us all – a collective Hero’s Journey on a global scale.
In his MythBlast entry some two months back, David Kudler reminded us that there are really only three stages to the Hero’s Journey: Separation (or Departure), Initiation, and Return. In that first stage, Separation/Departure, one leaves the Ordinary World behind. Not hard to see how that has played out: the world-that-was, whether in terms of work or travel, education, family dynamics, leisure activity, that world is no more.
Initiation, which generally involves some sort of death-and-rebirth scenario, is where we find ourselves now. We are traversing the abyss, punctuated by the actual deaths of nearly half a million people so far. When we will emerge on the other side and what boon we bring back on our Return is far from clear at the moment – but emerge we will – and the emphasis, in this moment, is on the “we.”
We – the whole planet – are the collective hero of this story – “the hero with seven billion faces,” if you will. No single savior-hero will rescue us; the only way we get through this is with cooperation, collaboration, and compassion. We are learning that going it alone, whether as an individual, or a single nation, does not work. What does work is pooling resources, knowledge, information, and talent.
I find that intriguing, especially in light of the re-emergence of nationalism in many countries in recent years.
We’re in a period, in terms of history, of the end of national and tribal consciousness. The only consciousness that is proper to contemporary life is global. Nevertheless, all popular thinking is in terms of loyalties to the local communities to which all are members. Such thinking is now out of date. What we face is a challenge to recognize one community on this earth, and what we find in the face of this challenge is everybody pulling back into his own in-group. I don’t want to name the in-groups, but we all know pretty well what they are. In our country we call them pressure groups. They are racial groups, class groups, religious groups, economic groups, and they are all tangling with each other. . . .
The new thing that is very difficult for people to realize is our society is the human race. And our little suburb is the globe. Spaceship Earth.
(Joseph Campbell, in a yet-to-be published manuscript I’ve been editing)
The coronavirus does not recognize borders – there’s just no way to build a wall tall enough to contain it. What’s more, we’re also recognizing that this really is a global economy as well – when China’s economy goes down, it reverberates around the world. The pandemic is teaching us that this really is one world – Spaceship Earth – and we’re all a part of it, together.
That, ultimately, is the challenge in this moment.
Philspar – good to see you gracing the forums of COHO once more!
Astute observation about that reluctant Call. In the U.S., I honestly don’t believe we would be having the powerful national conversation on race that’s taking place if it had not been for the coronavirus. All the other violent deaths of black men and women at the hand of police have been just as horrific – but they occurred when everyone was otherwise occupied with full time jobs and travel and leisure activities galore; now though, after a couple of months of life on hold and everyone staying home, for the first time we all seemed to be really paying attention – and so millions experienced a moment of unexpected epiphany!
As a result, American culture is undergoing a huge shift all at once. Who knows what other currents are stirring below the surface, here and elsewhere, about to break free?
The pandemic really has presented us with a powerful and profound mythogenetic moment – or, as your friend George Miller might say, “Plot twist!”
Great observations Stephen – specifically:
As a result, American culture is undergoing a huge shift all at once. Who knows what other currents are stirring below the surface, here and elsewhere, about to break free?
I’m sure that a lot of people would benefit from Campbell’s work right now but might not know it…
Stephen,
Thank you for this Mythblast, for connecting the dots between the Corona Virus and Joseph Campbell’s ideas and quotes, and I enjoy hearing your thoughts on Corona, as well. I like what you did with the image in Campbell’s quote of the Spaceship Earth and saying we are all in the ship together. Maybe that is the Call to Adventure!–Where we will blast off to from here, where will we direct our ship, what will we discover there? I am thinking that I realize how hard it is to think of an uncertain time such as this one as an exciting adventure; however, sad as all this is, at the same time, the virus presents us with a wonderful opportunity to help the environment heal and get healthy again as we too all seek to be free of this virus ‘polluting’ our air, nasal passageways, and lung passageways. There are so many ways through which the virus can pass to our lungs (or settle in other areas in the body, such as in the cases in children similar to Kawasaki disease) and there seems these days so many other passageways to travail in order to settle so many things of various global and community challenges.
Odd as this may sound, I have found that for me the pandemic has been strangely peaceful–but not right away. At first, all I could think of was the virus and what if I and/or anyone in my family contacted it, wondered about chances of survival–and humanity’s survival. At first, I “phobed out” over it. I didn’t want people even just stepping into my yard, let alone 6 feet away, without a mask. It seemed I was more cautious than most people I know who were showing up at my door without bringing a mask with them, and I found myself having to set boundaries with people, to make my stance known. As the days went by, I began to relax into this isolation overall into what felt and still feels like in some ways a vacation. I checked into Hotel Home, felt less pressures of having to perform in the outer world. At first I missed my out-of-the-home job, but I could still do some of it from home (and I always did some of it from home, so that was not a huge transition for me). Then, I began to feel even more ‘at home’ at Hotel Home: I went through old file boxes of old old manuscripts I had abandoned years ago–I suddenly felt the time and thus the peace and freedom to write more of my own creative writing than I had in years. I began sorting old poems into book manuscripts, began working on a novel I hadn’t touched much in years (having just dabbled with it here and there about once every several years). This was accompanied by the fear that if I were to catch the virus I might not be able to complete the things I had always wanted to finish in my lifetime. Some people are now having to reassess their jobs or career paths and make decisions as to how to best move forward with their businesses; for me, I already knew what I wanted all my life to do but never felt enough time all the time to focus on my writing the way I wanted to. So for me, the adventure was in the writing, the travels in my mind–what adventures would my characters venture on next in their hero’s journeys. I also watched some old movies I had not seen in a while, such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and old Tarzan movies, King Kong, and old Star Trek episodes. I even had some movie marathons some days.
I did pay attention to my breath. I spent time in TM and other meditations; I walked nature paths and breathed, and I walked the beach and breathed. I payed attention to my steps and my breath. And now I write when I feel like it, walk when I feel like it, eat when I feel like it, and nap if I feel like it. I am finding a new natural rhythm in this. The pressure is off in many ways–I can relax: Relax and breathe, breathe and write, breathe and do more gardening. I have had a lot of work to do too at times, but not in the same blocked time frame of Monday-Friday. I don’t much miss the money (yet), and know this cannot last forever.
I would like very much to hear more from Stephen and everyone in this forum about the myth of breath and look forward to reading more. I wish everyone health, wealth/sustenance, and happiness. We have a great group of people in this forum and it is a great place to all be together in this, thanks to the Joseph Campbell Foundation and to Stephen and Michael for hosting this forum and those who contribute to it. I just want to say I wish everyone well.
Peace and Breathe, Be Well,
Mary Ann
P.S. I mean peace in the midst of these troubled times–kind of like being in the eye of a hurricane. I did not mean to imply that it is entirely fine and peaceful.
–Mary Ann
Very interesting article, Stephen – both the mythical aspects of the air we breathe and your subsequent thoughts about the collective journey we are taking.
Speaking from India, I can tell you we are in utter chaos. Ever since the BJP came to power in 2014, they have been pushing the fascist philosophy of Hindu nationalism – and it has become even more virulent as they returned to power in 2019 with an even bigger majority. The country is for all practical purposes a police state now: protesters are jailed without bail, journalists are targeted regularly, and draconian laws are being framed. On the social front, Muslims get lynched with frightening frequency and right-wing leaders get away with hate speeches regularly. You will understand the gravity of the situation when I say that I am taking a risk making this post, as Big Brother’s eyes are everywhere.
But then came Corona, and dealt a blow to our already crippled economy. It also showed our country for what it was: a land where the majority live in abysmally poor conditions, despite our pretensions to becoming a global super power. And the poverty is rooted in our culture, the one we praise as golden. This was the great eye-opener: unless India does some serious introspection and go ahead with real social reengineering, our chance of existence as a viable nation itself is under threat. Our leaders still make bombastic statements, but they have started to sound hollow of late. India after Covid will be seriously different from India before Covid.
(BTW, this has forced me to reevaluate my understanding of Indian myth. So far, I was seeing it from the viewpoint of an upper-caste Hindu. But the moment the POV is changed, the myth also changes. But that is another topic altogether!)
Now, coming to the world: we were fed the lie that the current industrialised society is the only possible one. (And as an engineer, questioning this will get me burnt at the stake as a heretic!) But I had an epiphany of sorts when talking two engineer friends one day, when Greta Thunberg suddenly came on the TV screen. These two guys started grinding their teeth and cussing her – I was so shocked at the anger of mature men against a teen! Why the overreaction? But as I mulled it over, I understood – she was threatening the very basis of their worldview – that of the Engineer as the Controller of Nature.
And this is where I think, the next paradigm shift is coming – we will soon be looking at a “post-industrial” world. Industry as we know it is of very recent origin. It was a pathway that humanity took; but it was only one of the many possible pathways. Where we went wrong, was in getting ourselves to believe it was the only pathway. And contrary to what my engineer friends think, technology need not be for controlling the environment – it can be for adapting to it also. But for that, the POV has to change, and that is very difficult (we are seeing it with the major religions). Greta was showing that different POV, and to my friends it was like the safety net was being suddenly taken away from under the trapeze act they were playing.
So, I think that will be the paradigm shift in my personal journey as an engineer too. Already I have shifted over to Chemical Plant Safety – a field where I am trying to reduce the impact of industry on humans and the environment – but as I move towards the twilight of my career, I have decided to shift my focus to exploring how we can use engineering to live without industry as we know it.
Years ago while working for USEPA I did a paper on Necessities in the context of Sustainability. It was based on the ancient belief that there were four elements: earth, air, fire and water. I borrowed much of it from “The Sacred Balance” by David Suzuki. Here is the portion on Air.
AIR
While 99% of the air we breathe is highly active oxygen, and mildly reactive nitrogen, about 1% is made up of Argon, an inert gas. Because it is inert, it is breathed in and out without becoming a part of our bodies or entering into metabolic transformations. Each breath contains about 30,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms of
argon plus quintillions of molecules of carbon dioxide. Suppose you exhale a single breath and follow those argon atoms. Within minutes they have diffused through the air far beyond the spot where they were released, traveling into the neighborhood. After a year, those argon atoms have been mixed up in the atmosphere and spread around the planet in such a way that each breath you take includes 15 atoms of argon released in that one breath a year earlier. All people over the age of 20 have taken at least100 million breaths and have inhaled argon atoms that were emitted in the first breath of every child born in the world a year before! Your next breath will contain more than 400,000 of the argon atoms that Ghandi breathed. Argon atoms are here from the Last Supper and from the recitations of the classic poets. The longer each of us lives, the greater the likelihood that we will absorb atoms that were once part of Joan of Arc, Jesus Christ or extinct dinosaurs. Every breath is an affirmation of our connection with all other living things, a renewal of our link with our ancestors and a contribution to generations yet to come.Relative Proportions of Gases in the Lower Atmosphere
Nitrogen 78.08%
Oxygen 20.95
Argon 0.93
Carbon dioxide 0.035
Neon 0.0018
Helium 0.0052
Methane 0.00014
Krypton 0.00010
Nitrous oxide 0.00005Your article’s focus on breath caused me to see another metaphor. As Campbell said, the hero is one who gives himself to something greater than himself. This leads me to considerations about the implications of individualism and communalism. If I truly believe in the primacy of community over individuality, of other over self, then I must accept the reality that I and the other are one – that I and all others are one. That is the notion of community.
The binary thinking, which I’m trying to avoid, opposes individual to community. It is, however, a false dichotomy. A community is built of individuals – but individuals who have come to achieve their individuality through service to the community. This is where and how the individual flourishes and is fulfilled (becomes heroic): by becoming one with the community. So the individual and the community are not seen as a duality, but rather as parts of a whole.
Integrating the concepts of individuality and community is like breathing. The breath is a single thing, but it is comprised of a dual action: inhaling and exhaling. One cannot only inhale or exhale. We must do both to survive. Inhaling is akin to serving self and exhaling to serving others. Both are necessary for survival. The one thing necessary is breathing, but it has two components. “Self-ishness” is like inhaling and holding your breath. You can only do that for so long. If you persist, you die. To fulfill your individuality, your selfhood, you must exhale – give to others, to the community. The whole breath is definitely greater than the sum of its two parts. Only by joining in community are “we all in this together.”Hello Stephen and everyone; this is a great conversation you have going on here; I’d like to add a few things to broaden it out a bit if I may:
1.) The idea of “Gaia” or Earth Mother principle would be one since we are now talking about the planet as a biological entity; (especially since the Coronavirus is a biological species and could be seen as an agent of change). And 2.) the idea of the individual as separate but connected to this idea of a global tribe; a tribe without borders filled with unique human beings; each as individual agents with their own left-hand path not directed by the village compound. (This would a one of Joseph’s key ideas I think; that of the “Hero” and their individual Adventure into their own Dark Forrest to find the Grail of their lives.)
Science and myth within Joseph’s interpretation “do not conflict”; yet here we are in 2020 facing a global crisis of epic proportions and we are still having trouble coming to grips with how to deal with it despite all our technological advances. (Yes; the old ways of looking at things die hard don’t they?); and people still have problems coming into agreement on the same solutions no matter what the scientific or medical facts reveal. One could say this is all “political theater”; but shouldn’t facts concerning the greater good and welfare of all over-ride this insane absurdity?; (sadly it doesn’t seem so).
When Joseph talked about the “Free Fall” into the future our present situation seems to back this realization up. Whether referring to the internet and computer-based communication such as smart phone technology; walking on the Moon; or the Human Genome; science has changed man’s ability to interact with his world in ways unimaginable in previous times. (There is also the problem of archetypal Jungian shadow integration; (or man’s ability to control his inner animal nature); but that may be something for another time that may require a separate discussion thread; so I’ll leave up to you to decide if you want to go in that direction or not.
So here we are trying to grapple with Climate Change and Global Warming while at the same time patching together a shredded global economy; addressing a Racial meltdown; and fighting a global medical pandemic while at the same time attempting to navigate and interpret whether the news or data we are digesting is “misinformation” or not. Would this be a convergence of some sort; looks like it to me. (No wonder people are stressed out when recommended confinement keeps them prisoners in their own homes for months with no foreseeable end in sight!)
I liked Mary’s idea about trying to look at this situation as an opportunity for self-exploration and growth; thinking about new ways of positively shifting it’s focus instead of becoming a prisoner of one’s own frustrated depression. Also thinking of others is an important thing to consider as well; phones and email can be more than just information tools.
Nandu brought up something I’m not sure everyone is thinking of; and that is this is a “Global” situation; and we don’t really know where this thing is going to take us. Looking across the planet with all the various political and religious spins on the way this is interpreted is going to be a continuing problem for people to come to an agreed consensus on. Just getting aid to anyone right now is a problem; so this will be a “work-in-progress” I think.
But the thing that scares me the most is this is a “virus”; and viruses (mutate); and people spread them who willfully disregard public safety by not wearing masks; not keeping safe social distances; and not washing their hands; and breathing on each other in large gatherings. (Yes; I understand about the importance of protesting injustices; and you can say this is like herding cats; but this is different because it is so extremely dangerous; and can spread this virus beyond our ability to contain it.) And one last thing to consider is there will be more viruses to come; (you can count on it)!
I think Stephen’s point about the new Hero Journey this may offer is an extremely good one and there may be other manifestations that may yet present themselves as time goes forward. We don’t really know what environmental challenges may surface; increasingly violent storms, food shortages, water and air pollution, vulnerable refugee and migrant populations; this list could get quite long. But I remain hopeful because Joseph’s insights have helped to bring me this far; and I feel there will be better days ahead; it’s just getting through this rough stretch first.
As proof if Joseph was optimistic about the future on page xviii in the introduction of: “The Power of Myth”; Bill Moyers asked him if he still believed — as he once had written — :”that we are at this moment participating in one of the very greatest leaps of the human spirit to a knowledge not only of outside nature but also of our own deep inward mystery.” He thought for a minute and answered, “The greatest ever.”
Mary, Nandu, and Pilgrim1,
My mind is blown by the substance and depth of your observations!
Those of us who contribute to the MythBlast series have often wondered, in the absence of feedback, how our words are received. Ideally, we’d like to think readers don’t take our contributions as the final word from on high (we are all just students and seekers), but as a launching pad for further thought and reflections of their own. Thank you for confirming that healthy suspicion and furthering the conversation. I trust that those who visit this thread but are reluctant to actively participate will still benefit from your contributions to the discussion!
Thank you Pilgrim1 for amplifying and expanding on this metaphor. I especially appreciate how your scientific observations actually strengthen the power and poignancy of the metaphorical significance of breath: “Every breath is an affirmation of our connection with all other living things, a renewal of our link with our ancestors and a contribution to generations yet to come.”
Your final paragraph really brings that home!
And Mary, thank you for the reminder that Breath is not only a common thread in the global crises we face today, but an effective tool for finding balance (sitting in meditation and following your breath) amid the turbulence and turmoil. I’ll address that further in a subsequent post, but I’m bumping up against my annual optometrist’s appointment (we will both be masked).
Nandu – I have such tremendous empathy for what you and your country are experiencing. It certainly strikes a chord: if you have followed what’s been happening in the United States, you may have noticed some of our leaders, too, “still make bombastic statements, but they have started to sound hollow of late.” I am impressed with how you are implementing your changing understanding within your profession – and I am tantalized by this tidbit you dropped:
BTW, this has forced me to reevaluate my understanding of Indian myth. So far, I was seeing it from the viewpoint of an upper-caste Hindu. But the moment the POV is changed, the myth also changes. But that is another topic altogether!
I do hope you’ll open a discussion in the not-too-distant future on this intriguing subject.
Given MythBlast publishing deadlines, I delivered this essay at the end of the first week of May, roughly three weeks before George Floyd’s tragic death. His last words, “I can’t breathe!” – also the last words of Eric Garner in 2014, and half a dozen other Black men who died of asphyxiation between 2018 and 2020 while under arrest – have become the rallying cry of nationwide protests that have triggered a huge, unanticipated cultural shift in the conversation on race in the United States.
Though we’ve heard those words before, it seems this time most of the nation was actually paying attention (fewer distractions, given the pause in work and travel and leisure-time activities for so many of us). Breath is such a potent archetypal image because it is ubiquitous and NOT determined by race – no one survives outside the womb without it – which may be why Floyd’s death has lifted the veil for so many.
Have to confess I can’t help but marvel at how the archetypal imagery of Breath resonates through three of the major collective crises facing us in this moment.
More to come . . .
Stephen,
In response to your desire to open discussion on the question of racism, I send the following from my journal.
5/30/20
I rose this morning to news of more rioting in more American cities. I can’t begin to sort out the mixture of feelings. Sadness is overwhelming. Anger too. There is also guilt and some shame that in my 82 hears I have not done enough to be more a part of the solution than the problem.
I think back to my activities in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and beyond and reflect on the similarities and differences. Clearly there was a much stronger element of non-violence. My memory, though faulty, is that the leadership then was more effective, and there was more of it. Folks in and out of government were influential at many levels. There were many examples of productive public-private partnerships. Churches and religious organizations of all denominations had a moral clarity that seems to be lacking today. The Catholic Bishops are collectively an embarrassment – and don’t get me started on Jerry Falwell, Jr. and Billy Graham’s son.
Another difference, and I don’t mean to trivialize anything, is that today we don’t have the music. A hallmark of the 60s movement was an abundance of folk music that gave voice to the injustice, the anger, the hope, the mission and the purpose for opposing injustice and inequality. I can’t stress enough the healing properties of the music of that period. I think we desperately need the poets and musicians to give us a voice.
I would suggest that we would benefit from a revival of the hootenanny – or a modern adaptation – as a replacement for the numerous reality shows that feature pointless adversarial encounters and meaningless and vapid competitions like “The Apprentice” (now thankfully defunct), and “Survivor.”
Music has traditionally been an important part of our country’s history as we overcame the difficulties of depression and war. I think we need music now, more than ever.
Let me close by recommending the video “Pete Seeger: The Power of Song.” His hero journey is truly inspirational.
Hi, James,
I like and follow all your thoughts you write on this. My biggest hope in all this, as it has been for many others, aside from the virus going away and saving as many lives as we can, is that during this time of social isolation humankind might work harder and faster to come up with more alternative fuels that would not pollute our earth. I don’t have the links right now, but I did see how pollution levels were going down in some major cities without so many cars on the roads, and it worried me that as soon as the lockdown orders were lifted that people would just go on doing what they did before rather than taking it as a sign. This could have been a very positive sign and good for us now but especially for our children and grandchildren and the “7 generations” we are supposed to be kind to think about. Where I live, I do not think it was just my imagination or wishful thinking that the air looked and smelled cleaner with barely any traffic on the road. Now the cars are back all over the place–and I feel somewhat disappointed. Another thing I was able to do during this time of the stay-at-home was to begin a new ecological project to help endangered species of our local wildlife here–some have mentioned why work with animals when humans are suffering, but I am not a nurse, I am high-risk to both get corona and not survive if if I get it, and as Stephen and so many others have expressed here, we are all linked. There is no break in the net/web of the universe that holds us all together. I loved the writing about how we all breathe the same air, and anything that helps the environment helps us all in this balance of ecosystem.
And when we all meditate and relax, I am thinking now (and want to mention this to Stephen), the more we can all either meditate or do what gives us joy such as gardening or walking that cleanses our thoughts and feelings, the more we send positive thoughts and vibrations out into the collective psyche that can help heal humanity and the collective as well as help heal Gaia. I think that a lot of the hatred that goes around are partly from people’s own hatred of their lives when they are not loving life, and the natural world around us has a tendency to absorb and cleanse what troubles us.
Best and Bliss!
Mary Ann
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