the lovers, the dreamers and me

Last night I feel victim to the recurrence of a common phenomenon that leaves me suffering the next morning. No, nothing haraam. I stayed up way too late reading. Ever since I was little and used to hide under the covers with a flashlight to continue reading the Boxcar Children and Little House on the Prairie after my bedtime, I've had a habit of getting sucked into books a little too long, and pay for it the next day. Last night though, the time was extended even further, with a much rarer occurrence.

I'm a definite lover of sappy movies. I learned in a recent read that the reason that a 'good cry' feels so good, is that tears release stress. So I don't feel bad about tearing up at movies, its good for the health! But it is much less often that I happen to read books that make me cry. And I'm not just talking one or two tears as you read the sad lines. I mean a half an hour after you're done and you're still blubbering. As with the sad movies, you know how ridiculous you are for crying about something that a. doesn't affect your life and b. isn't real, but you continue to cry all the same.

I will not discolse which culprit book it was that set me into emotional upheaval, I would like to maintain some sense of dignity, but it was definitely one of those books that you can read over and over and it will still get you, every time. Like Where the Red Fern Grows. Ah, another elementary school favorite.

I think it is much more difficult to truly touch someone's emotions through the written word, and when done well, has a much greater impact. I think most humans (this has absolutely no backing) are more visual. It would be easier to evoke reaction with a picture of a starving child, for instance, than with a well written paragraph about the trials of said child's life. I guess that's where that 'a picture is worth a thousand words' saying comes from. Just when you think you're being original... Dang clichés...

Anyway, this is why I have so much respect for the really great writers out there. There are writers who can make a good page-turners. There are some who can make you laugh. And a few who can really make you think. All wonderful. But being able to provoke an intense emotional reaction, I'd say thats a skill few could boast.

It's quite a powerful position to be in, being able to affect people enmass with your words and thoughts. Do the great writers go to bed each night knowing that they affected someone's life that day? What a great feeling that would be. But I'm sure, that like so many others who have made an impact on the world, they don't appreciate the magnitude. How could you? It's probably a little too much for the mind to grasp.

Do you know when you've reached that point? The point where you have really started to affect people in some way? I'm guessing that you never really appreciate it. But someone does.

That's what I hope for. Not necessarily to be a great writer. But to use my passion to make an impact. By doing what makes me happy, I want to affect people's lives in a positive way. How much better can you get than that?

That's my hope for everyone else too. Find what makes you happy. What makes you respect yourself and feel good about yourself every day. Use it to make a difference in the world around you. And do it now! Because life's just too short to wait for someday.