Return and Contribution is the final, and arguably the most important stage of the Hero's Journey.  It is the return home for the traveler, who is required by tradition and necessity to share what has been gained or learned.  As the journey thus far has been about "I" and "me," Return and Contribution is about "we."  It is the return to community, where the seeker becomes the knower, the student becomes the teacher.
    This final stage, so often missing in our modern settings, is critical because it closes the cycle, not just completes a task or challenge.  It is the changing of generations, or a passing of the torch.  It is familiar ground because all heroes and travelers have been here before.  It is an integral part of the birth-death-rebirth cycle.

And the Cycle continues....

    And yes, your experience in life should have hinted that the journey never really ends here, for as one journey closes, another opens and the cycle starts up again.

For more information, contact Bret.

All material Copyright by Bret Stephenson 2002
unless noted otherwise.

Last Updated November 24, 2002