Dismantling the Myth of "The One" — A Return to I&I and Collective Power

Somewhere in the tangle of our inherited stories, we were sold a dangerous myth: that salvation, transformation, and even the fate of the world rests on the shoulders of one. One man. One hero. One chosen. The One.

It’s the foundation of so many of our Western stories—from Hercules to Harry Potter, from Achilles to Superman, from the anointed kings of ancient tales to the lone geniuses of modern Silicon Valley. We’ve built a civilization enthralled by the myth that it takes a singular, extraordinary individual to fix what’s broken. That change must come through suffering. That greatness requires sacrifice. That struggle is noble, and salvation is earned through pain.

But what if this isn't truth? What if this is spellwork? A legacy of conquest culture—rooted in hierarchy, dominance, and isolation—masquerading as inspiration?

The Origins: Myth, Power, and Separation

In ancient Greece, where so many Western myths found their form, the heroic ideal was born. Hercules performs impossible labours. Odysseus survives on wit and endurance alone. Prometheus defies the gods, suffers eternally to bring fire to humans. These myths are not benign—they are blueprints. They taught us that it is noble to suffer, even alone. That worthiness is proven through isolation and trial. That the masses are too weak, too simple to change anything, and so must wait for the one to save them.

It was never a collective story. It was a pyramid.

Even our religious narratives reinforce it. One son of God. One prophet. One saviour. One sacrifice. These stories have power—yes—and beauty, too. But they also sow a subtle

forgetting: the forgetting of us.

The Harm of the Myth

The belief in “The One” is disempowering. It tells millions of people that unless they are extraordinary, their contribution is irrelevant.

It leaves too many thinking:

• “I’m not qualified.”

• “I’m not ready.”

• “I don’t know enough.”

• “Who am I to do anything about this?”

  
  

So they wait.

They defer.

They scroll.

They numb.

They watch.

The systems continue. The planet burns. The suffering deepens. And the one never comes.

Because here’s the truth: there is no one. There is only many.

Returning to I & I

In the wisdom of Rastafari, there is a sacred phrase: I & I.

It is not “you and I.” It is not “me and God.”

It is oneness—the divine and the human as indivisible. The recognition that in each of us, there is the whole. That I am not separate from you. And you are not separate from creation.

This is the remembering.

That healing, change, justice, peace—these are not singular acts. They are collective frequencies.They do not emerge from one hero, but from a million hands, hearts, and voices, raised in resonance.

Our Stories Have Taught Us Wrong

Our modern myths—TV, film, media—still glorify the lone hero.

The one hacker who saves the world.

The chosen one who fulfills the prophecy.

The single activist who stands up against injustice.

The entrepreneur who pulls themselves up by the bootstraps.

But the truth is far less dramatic—and far more powerful.

Movements change the world.

Communities heal each other.

Neighbors rebuild after storms.Strangers rise up together.

No single person can dismantle systems of oppression, repair ecosystems, or reinvent the way we live.

But a thousand people remembering their power?

A million humans reclaiming their wholeness?

That’s revolution.

Collective Action, Not Collective Waiting

Real change isn’t born from hardship—it’s born from alignment.

It isn’t about sacrifice—it’s about sovereignty.

It isn’t hard because it must be—it’s hard because we are trying to do it the wrong way: alone.

We’ve glorified the hard road.

The burden.

The grind.

The solo climb to the top.

But we were never meant to walk alone.

Not in life. Not in leadership. Not in healing.

The Remembering

We must remember:

• That power shared is not power lost—it is power multiplied.

• That the root of change is not struggle but solidarity.

• That transformation happens at the speed of trust, not the pace of a single saviour.

• That stories shape our future, and it’s time to write new ones.

Let us retire the myth of The One.

Let us reweave the sacred web of I & I.

Let us become the multitude.

Because if not us, who?

And if not now, when?