I love stories; correction, I love great stories. Epic adventures that make you change your philosophies, hand the reader a pearl of wisdom, or turn your ideals on love. I love when the plot thickens and I hear myself thinking, "I never saw it that way before." A light bulb clicks in my head and will change my perception forever.
But most of all, I love when stories give me the endurance I need to continue on in the challenges I face day after day; because every human on earth shares one common conflict: that life isn't easy.
I am twenty-six years old and even though I'm younger, I have seen my friends and other people who gave up when life became too hard. I have my own testimonies of giving up (some of my biggest regrets stem from those decisions). When things look bleakest, the answer of the world is, "Do whatever makes you feel happy." - "Whatever makes you feel good." - "Whatever you deserve."
Whatever makes you happy...
Not that this is always the wrong answer, but I do believe this answer has made our generation make some selfish decisions. From these decisions, a domino effect has cascaded and trampled over the innocent. Allow me to explain:
Divorce: "Things didn't work out the way we wanted them to. We just aren't happy and we can't live like this forever. It's better off for us to be separated. We both deserve to be happy."
Abortion: "I'm not ready for this commitment. This was an accident. This baby is better off without living in this world or me raising it. I would never make an adequate mother. This is my decision. This baby would hold me back. I deserve to be happy."
Faith: "This isn't what I expected. I expected more from God. This isn't the life I signed up for. I don't know if He even exists anymore. Is he a loving God or full of hate? Too many rules, too many things I don't understand. I don't even think I want to understand it all. It's better just to ignore it and enjoy this life I'm living - the way I want to live it. God will get on just fine without me, I deserve more from life anyway. God will just hold me back from being happy."
Hate/Love: "I don't know if I can forgive them. I can't even think what to say to this person - it's just a waste of my time. They don't listen anyway. They'll forget, life will move on. I don't know if I even love them anymore, in fact, I hate them. I know I do. I wish they were dead. I deserve better then this."
We all are searching to fill an emptiness to our own happiness. We each have a disillusion that life is going to be perfectly happy - but it's not. If we faced our challenges, our stories have the potential to be great!
Do we ever think in the moment, "How will this choice affect those around me?"
We are so focused on ourselves, we trample on other people. We give up and in a sense we give up on them too.
No one likes the stories where the protagonist gives up and looses everything. I don't imagine readers would be satisfied if the ending of any book read, "I tried, it didn't work out. Oh well, life goes on."
Did we try?
Did we really try?
Did we push aside our own feelings to focus on the needs of others?
Did we walk away from the challenge, when our endurance would have reaped a greater reward?
The stories I love the most are the ones that remind me to never give up. That even though the moment may feel bleak, tomorrow is coming and will be different. In the GREAT stories, people fight for the right choices and don't give up when life becomes difficult. I want my life and my stories to reflect this.
But most of all, I love when stories give me the endurance I need to continue on in the challenges I face day after day; because every human on earth shares one common conflict: that life isn't easy.
I am twenty-six years old and even though I'm younger, I have seen my friends and other people who gave up when life became too hard. I have my own testimonies of giving up (some of my biggest regrets stem from those decisions). When things look bleakest, the answer of the world is, "Do whatever makes you feel happy." - "Whatever makes you feel good." - "Whatever you deserve."
Whatever makes you happy...
Not that this is always the wrong answer, but I do believe this answer has made our generation make some selfish decisions. From these decisions, a domino effect has cascaded and trampled over the innocent. Allow me to explain:
Divorce: "Things didn't work out the way we wanted them to. We just aren't happy and we can't live like this forever. It's better off for us to be separated. We both deserve to be happy."
Abortion: "I'm not ready for this commitment. This was an accident. This baby is better off without living in this world or me raising it. I would never make an adequate mother. This is my decision. This baby would hold me back. I deserve to be happy."
Faith: "This isn't what I expected. I expected more from God. This isn't the life I signed up for. I don't know if He even exists anymore. Is he a loving God or full of hate? Too many rules, too many things I don't understand. I don't even think I want to understand it all. It's better just to ignore it and enjoy this life I'm living - the way I want to live it. God will get on just fine without me, I deserve more from life anyway. God will just hold me back from being happy."
Hate/Love: "I don't know if I can forgive them. I can't even think what to say to this person - it's just a waste of my time. They don't listen anyway. They'll forget, life will move on. I don't know if I even love them anymore, in fact, I hate them. I know I do. I wish they were dead. I deserve better then this."
We all are searching to fill an emptiness to our own happiness. We each have a disillusion that life is going to be perfectly happy - but it's not. If we faced our challenges, our stories have the potential to be great!
Do we ever think in the moment, "How will this choice affect those around me?"
We are so focused on ourselves, we trample on other people. We give up and in a sense we give up on them too.
No one likes the stories where the protagonist gives up and looses everything. I don't imagine readers would be satisfied if the ending of any book read, "I tried, it didn't work out. Oh well, life goes on."
Did we try?
Did we really try?
Did we push aside our own feelings to focus on the needs of others?
Did we walk away from the challenge, when our endurance would have reaped a greater reward?
The stories I love the most are the ones that remind me to never give up. That even though the moment may feel bleak, tomorrow is coming and will be different. In the GREAT stories, people fight for the right choices and don't give up when life becomes difficult. I want my life and my stories to reflect this.
One of my favorite quotes from my favorite movie/story The Lord of the Rings Trilogy:
Sam: It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it'll shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something even if you were too small to understand why.
Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it'll shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something even if you were too small to understand why.
But I think Mr. Frodo, I do
understand, I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of
turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something.
Sam: That there's some good in the world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.
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