Spinning Our Wheels: Magic Flight

Magic Flight refers to the hero having to make a speedy egress after he completes his task. This stage is like Refusal of the Return in that it is completely optional, and not seen in every story. Typically, it manifests due to existential threats that come from the environment, a specific enemy, or a combination of the two. In Star Wars, after Luke fires the torpedoes into the exhaust vent of the Death Star, he had to fly away as fast as possible to avoid being consumed by the resulting explosion. In the classic tale of Jack, the Giant Killer, once he had snatched the treasure from the giant, Jack had to make it to the bottom of the beanstalk and chop it down before the giant could get to him. The first three installments of the Halo video game series feature a finale in which the player must escape threats from both enemies and the environment after landing the decisive blow.

Now, hopefully you won’t have to deal with anything too overtly similar in your own life. If you live in a moderately stable part of the globe, you’re not typically going to face existential threats immediately following a personal success. However, as we’ve talked about in other sections, it’s often not threats from the environment or other people that can do us the most harm, but those within us that can sabotage our efforts as we work towards our goals. It is in this stage that I have discovered a rather…