I love moments. Though fleeting and potentially overwhelming (if true weight is given to its microcosmic representation of the human condition), that moment of awareness, of connectivity with the event and those around you, is intoxicating. I've come to a place in my life where those moments, and the awareness of them, have become too weighty and moving (either in a positive or negative way, but usually a positive) to experience on my own and then simply let go.  So I've begun trying to capture them, either on one of my cameras or on a scrap piece of paper where I hope my writing will be legible enough the next day when I stumble upon it in my purse. Why? Because I need to share them. 

Obviously I did a lot of sharing these past few weeks while I was in Vancouver. I twittered and blogged about almost all the Olympic events that I attended and didn't hold back on the joy that I was feeling. Though I worried a little about backlash ('must be nice to take 2 weeks off to galavant around Vancouver and drink beer at curling matches and let us all know how much fun it all is, eh?'), I knew it was too momentous an opportunity to pass up and not share, and something told me that I would take away an important, no, defining experience from the event as my past life as a Vancouver figure skater and current life as an LA storyteller collided head on. 

What I witnessed was an abundance of collective joy...brought on by the hero's journey. For those of you already Joseph Campbell fans, you're very familiar with the latter term. But for those of you aren't, it seems pretty self explanatory: the journey (which often implies struggle) that a person undertakes in their life to achieve something bigger than one's self. The Vancouver Olympics (regardless of what all the protestors want you to believe) was a shiny conduit that brought the hero's journey to a worldwide audience. And that collective audience, whether at a bar, a stadium, or on the streets, reacted with joy as one. People discovered a community that they had forgotten they were a part of. Why? Because we don't see many heroes anymore, we only see celebrities. When we look at celebrities, we don't see achievement...we just see fame. And fame can be achieved (and I use that term loosely) through the randomest of occurrences (I won't go into myriad examples but leaked sex tapes are my favorite). Even with celebrity artists, ie. Hollywood stars, we know the celebrity actors aren't the best ones- just the most famous. Because we, the collective audience, don't see the journey that it took that person to achieve celebrity and fame, we didn't see the work, or the struggle, or the competition (perhaps because there wasn't any, just luck or nepotism). Most importantly, their shining moment doesn't include us at all, we're not a beneficiary to their success, we're only fans. So they can't be true heros. Hence we are as eager and curious to see them fall from grace as finally we can be a part of the celebrities journey, and see their human side. 

Have we lost touch with the idea that something can be earned and achieved if you work harder than you think possible, struggle against the odds, pour your heart and soul into your passion, sacrifice, realize that you are doing it not just for yourself but for your family, your friends, your community, and the greater good? As Joseph Campbell said to Bill Moyers, "A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than one's self". 

I, along with hundreds of millions of people, witness the hero's journey. Through Joannie Rochette, through Evan Lysacek, the Canadian (and US) hockey team, through Lindsay Vonn, Tessa and Scott and the Chinese pair team Shen and Zhao. "There are two types of deed. One is the physical deed, inwhich the hero performs a courageous act in battle or saves a life. The other kind is the spiritual deed, which the hero learns to experience the supernormal range of human spiritual life and then comes back with a message" (Campbell). These Olympic athletes did both and so brought together communities and countries. 

What is different for me then, now that I have returned to my 'regular life' devoid of security lines, ice rinks and podiums? How has this experience colored my own unique goals? I believe even more strongly that people want to feel a part of something, people want to feel PART of the story, not just be passive observers. People may want to look at the pretty, the glossy, the skinny in the pages of a tabloid mag at the nail salon, but they will invest in something more heroic- they WANT to be moved. When it comes to the community that I am a part of (the web content creators community) what does that lead me to say? Tell the hero's journey and BE the hero's journey. We all are already undertaking the latter (even if we don't know it) with the amount of personal struggle we go through to survive in this space. We are laying the framework and foundation for a future generation with our blood, sweat and tears- so share it, teach it, document it, and RECOGNIZE IT. And when writing and creating your content, don't ever forget that people just want to connect with the character's journey. We strive to make our series interactive, strive to make it slick, to make it funny, when we should primarily strive to make it human. I can't remember for the life of me who said or wrote this, but if I could only chose one rule that I act (and now write) by it is this: "the more personal it is, the more universal it is". This is what I witnessed everyday in Vancouver and what I strive to bring to my work today. 

I hope you found some nuggets of truth in my post that made you think and feel something new in this exciting (and important) time for webseries. Congratulations to everyone who received a Streamy Nomination. I am extremely proud of all my friends and associates (whether nominated or not)...especially those involved with "Compulsions": I couldn't be more proud to be a part of such a dark and powerful webseries that articulates a remarkable journey for so many people involved. 

"The heros sphere of action is not the transcendent but here, now, in the field of time, of good and evil." Joseph Campbell