Mythological Mindset?

     On the very first day of class this semester my mythology professor, Randy, introduced to us what he calls the "Mythological Mindset." On that very first day I sat there and I thought to myself, 'Wow...this guy is...a total....wack job.' For me on that very first day of the semester I couldn't, or more accurately I wouldn't, wrap my head around this conept that Randy was laying out for us. But as I continued to think about it I realized that maybe this "mindset" wasn't just the ramblings of another professor. I began to see it as a legitimate paradigm through which to view the world
     Randy laid the mindset out to us as having 6 important aspects:

1. Nothing is ordinary
2. The most important aspects of life are just below the surface
3. Life is beautiful - because there is a struggle
4. Pain and troubles can be helpful
5. Death is a necessity
6. Every person is heroic by nature

As I thought each of these aspects through, the legitmacy of this mindset became clearer and clearer to me. Each point Randy made about the Mythological Mindset over the ensuing weeks hit closer and closer to my own beliefs. I may not refer to it the same way that Randy does but each aspect of the mindset is something I have come to know in my own life.
     Such as "Life is beautiful because of the struggle." Life hasn't been too much of a struggle for me, I mean I was raised in an LDS household with loving parents and great brothers and I've never had to worry about where my next meal was coming from or anything like that but I have had bad days where I feel like I am struggling against all odds. But when that struggle is lifted from you, you realize just how beautiful life can be. You cannot have the sweet without the bitter. There must always be a struggle in order for us to appreciate just how wonderful and beautiful this life really and truly is.
     "Every person is heroic by nature." Now this doesn't mean that everyone is running around with capes tied around their necks and their underwear on the outside of their pants (although some do...scary right?). Simply to me it means that everyone has the possibility of performing of heroic acts. These acts don't have to be intense like saving children from burning buildings, even though that is pretty heroic, but they tend to be more like being there for a friend when they are having a bad day, or talking to that elderly person you always see at the restaurant you frequent for lunch. Heroic acts don't always have to include physically saving people...sometimes a heroic acts is something simple like smiling at the loner kid. You never know how far a smile can take someone, one smile could, quite possibly, save someone....which I find to be pretty heroic.
     This mindset, even though at the beginning I found it to be a little silly sounding, seems to be shaping up to be one of the better paradigms to view this crazy world with. It may even be one of the best things I could learn to incorporate into my life as I step into my future. So here goes...life with the paradigm of the mythological mindset in place.