Hope. I’ve said before that Hope is my muse. She also leads me to victory. Life and the good things in our lives are worth defending. Evil for me is destroying the good, stealing joy, suppressing freewill, or murder which ends lives prematurely. Larger than life champions aren’t the only means to hold evil at bay. Some evil is so overwhelming or insidious that only by working together can ordinary people shine a bright enough light to stop it.
Hope springs eternal. Even if all is lost, hope can guide us back to the light.
Do not despair, hope will help you hold on. Better yet, fight back against the danger. Our power is not measured in strength alone, but in our willingness to confront our fears. There is plenty to be afraid of, the news showers us constantly with stories and videos that reinforce our dread. Be a reason for others to take heart. Help those who cannot help themselves, be a source of strength by showing you are unwilling to yield to fear.
The world seems to move faster than it ever has, situations change every day. I don’t think the world is faster, only our perception with information at our fingertips. The 24 hour news cycle, social media, and in some small part, a media induced paranoia give us a false sense that many of us can’t keep up with, let alone impact these crises. I reject that idea. I hope we can still make a difference, I’ll hold on until I can’t make a difference at all. Then I hope my legacy, whatever it may be will inspire others to hope the same.
My stories reflect this. The characters I try to bring to life face their fears, do their best to hide from them, or run screaming, but ultimately whatever they have to face will find them. I try to show human frailty and inner strength, two sides of the same condition, the human condition. I hope you will read the stories I write and feel uplifted by the same emotions I instill in those characters.