We do not set out to crush souls – especially our own children’s. Yet it happens. A word or two here. A sideways glance there.

Thankfully, there is an antidote to this insidious poison.

It is the Hero’s Journey.

When our children claim their lives as authentic Hero’s Journeys, they personalize this narrative that honors the soul, calls it up from hiding, heals it, grows it and even puts a name on it.

This antidote is the reason we started Acton Academy – to safeguard the light in our children’s eyes.

As a family and a larger community, we are fellow travelers. We remind each other to cherish our individual gifts and to fight the monsters of insecurity and fear so we can venture into relationships and the world.

We can share stories again and again with our children so they absorb this fundamental truth about their own lives: you have a special gift and deserve to find a calling and change the world.

This four-minute video explaining the hero’s journey is one the Acton Eagles have seen. Watching it helps us parents remember words to weave into our daily stories and conversations with our young heroes.

I will leave you with a question I ask my boys. It is by poet Mary Oliver:

“Tell me,

what is it you plan to do

with your one

wild and precious life?”