Making Change

Today, I'd like to talk about how stories can and do change the world. A good example of this is shining on the streets of the world, as protesters line up day after day to stand up against the tyranny of an abusive mentality in the police force. George Floyd's story matters. Just like the stories of countless others, it's a tragedy. We may not hear them all, they may not all register with us or strike a chord in our hearts, but these stories have been playing out across the globe since the dawn of humanity.  

When there is power to be had, a specific type of dark energy is attracted to it. A police officer crushing the windpipe of a non violent suspect is far more common than we know. Because of the miracle of the internet, we hear these things immediately, whereas something like this may have slid by on the second page of a newspaper and never been the focal point for a rebellion. 

But, it is a rebellion, a revolution, the dawn of an entirely new civilization. People are done being ground into paste by the capitalist machine. We've had enough, and we're rising up. Listen to our stories. 

You may well ask yourself, "What good does it do to listen to the stories?" 

Well, Dear Reader, all change starts with me telling my tale to someone who takes it forward in their life, sharing the lessons learned therein with others. This is how words change the face of history. 

Everything you ever read, every story you ever hear, digests like a meal and becomes a part of who you are. I believe in redemption because of Charles Dickens, and his iconic character 'Ebenezer Scrooge'.  

I believe in magic because of authors like Diane Duane and Madeline L'Engle. I believe that all human beings have decency at their cores because of characters like Shelley's 'Frankenstein's Monster', and HG Wells' 'Sayer of the Law'. And I know without any doubt that all monsters are human, because of writers like Dean Koontz and Stephen King.  

Because of JRR Tolkien's 'Frodo', I know that every person changes the world. Even the smallest of us make a real difference. From reading epic tales of all sorts, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Odyssey, The Bible, and countless others, I have learned that any person is capable of facing up to what life hands them, and beating it in the end. 

We adventure alongside the heroes in these stories. We grow and we become more, in spite of the losses that we suffer. We ourselves change slightly in the sharing of the storytelling spell. We allow the words to form a sort of movie around us, living in an alternate reality where such things are possible, and happy endings are the norm.  

Realizing that we don't have to be passive observers in our own lives, we go forth, changed forever by the tale, and alter the reality that we live in. Our eyes have been irreversibly opened to some truths that had hidden for eons in the shadows, and now we can't unsee them.  

Now that we have been shown the demons in the shadows, we can see them writhing there. We can recognize evil on the rise in a human that we love because we've seen the signs and symptoms of possession in a story. I joke that if I ever stop acting like myself, someone should see if I'm traveling from the future to 'put right what once went wrong' like Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap. 

I believe firmly that the creature that sits in the white house currently is a traveler from another dimension. He has carefully orchestrated the civil unrest that we are experiencing on a daily basis. He was sent here or otherwise came here to change the course of human affairs. The thing he wasn't prepared for was how we have all been altered by stories. We see his foul machinations for what they are. We see him scheming and plotting. That is why those of us that don't walk around with our eyes firmly screwed closed are not falling for the spell that he is casting.  

It amazes me, the sheer number of people around me that can't see through him. They all have one thing in common. They are not readers. They do not spend time raptly listening to stories about people who have survived situations like this. They never, ever check their facts. They really hate it when we do this for them. They know that they are being stupid, but they are so devoted to their own mindset that they can't and won't be argued into seeing sense.  

The stories have been written for us. Whether the account is factual or fictional, the lessons are the same. So many things written by historical figures as they were living through history, much the same way that I'm writing this now in this time of great change. It is up to us to read them, to listen to them or watch them being performed. It's up to us to understand the thoughts and feelings of others in all things and at all times.  

It is up to you. You are the reader. It is your responsibility to learn from what I have to say. It is your responsibility to educate yourself. Then, it will be your responsibility to write your own account. You will write your thoughts and emotions into the minds of another generation of humanity. 

When this time comes, you will fully comprehend how very important your role is as reader. Without a reader, a writer is like a bullhorn shouting into an empty quarry. A writer can't communicate a thing unless a reader is there to hear the story. Once heard, a story etches changes on the heart and soul of the reader, disseminating into public awareness.  

If you had never heard 'Alice in Wonderland' who would you be? Without 'Peter Pan', would you recognize how important it is for children to be childish? If Walt Disney had never seen the intrinsic value in tales like these and made them into beautiful animated productions, who would you be? How much different would the world be? Would you believe in 'True Love's Kiss' and the power of pure love to right the wrongs of the world? 

Without stories to show me that the entire world wasn't like what I was living through, I am sure I would have successfully committed suicide long ago. If I had managed that, then you would never have seen this story that I've written for you. You would never have taken this journey into the reader/writer relationship, and you would never have known that you are not the only person that feels this way.