The Audacity to Hope

What makes for good stories? Why do we decide to read one thing but put down another? Why do we like one character and not another? The answer boils down to how we are able to identify and empathize with the characters and the trials they’re put through.

Every time we open a book we’re looking to be entertained, but more importantly to know we’re not alone, that we matter, and that there’s hope for better days.

When you write something there’s no telling how much it will affect others once you release it into the world.

Our job as writers is to hold up a mirror to society and report on what we see. The worlds we build are a reflection of this, wrong or right, and we should never forget the power we hold to raise people up or tear them down.

This doesn’t mean we should shy away from negative things because life is full of them, but is also full of positive things too. How our characters deal with the challenges in their life speaks volumes more than anything else. Are they victims or victors?

Everyone loves an underdog because deep down we’ve all been on the short end of life and wish that the world rewarded hard work and playing by the rules, and that nice guys finished first.

Cliched as it may be the truth is even the most hardened cynic hopes for a happily ever after, that good triumphs evil, and the boy gets the girl.

Though we know it’s foolish to believe in things like love at first sight and destiny we still hope none the less things turn out as they’re supposed to.

Yes hope is the reason we get up every day and go once more into the breach. The reason we rise even though the world throws us a ton of crap. Hope is the reason we answer no when we are told to give up.

So often we’re told to be realistic which translates to giving up our dreams and giving up hope.Well I say forget that because at the end of the day all we have is our hopes and dreams.

Never let anyone take them from you because sometimes just sometimes, with hard work and a lot of trying, dreams do come true. If you dare to hope.

I Will Not Bow

All is lost again, but I’m not giving in. I will not bow. I will not break. I will shut the world away. I will not fall. I will not fade. I will take your breathe away.
—Breaking Benjamin, I will Not Bow

 

When life gives you lemons make lemonade, play the cards life dealt you, and a thousand more sayings which all boil down to: life isn’t easy so make the best of it. Everyone is different, but at our core we are the same and experience the same things as we go through life.

The difference is in how we handle the rough patches in life. Are they challenges for us to overcome and learn from, or they obstacles for to hold us back?

The choice is yours.

For the longest time I went through life viewing every rough patch as another obstacle in a long line of set backs. I was a victim and blamed everyone else for my troubles. Then I had an epiphany.

No one is responsible for how your life turns out, except YOU!

You can view the world as a hostile place with people out to get you at every corner, or you can choose the see the good in people while remaining a realist.

The point is you have to be the source of change in your life. You have to take those first steps and continue moving forward making the best decisions you can.

No one is going to hold your hand all your life. You have to find the strength to carry on everyday. And most importantly no one can use your talents or the gifts given to you.

You have to be the one to use them or lose for good. When you’re lost or scared look inward and you’ll know what to do.