Good Days in the Land of Thousand Gods

A little run-through on my day, but I got up with small goals and no set numbers. I threw together a short scene in UnSung, maybe no more than 1K words. Good. Started a marketing image for the completed trilogy I released last week. Also good (and noting that I should attempt to do this as a pre-release ad in the future). Organized computer files a bit better...

I know I'm about to get into another involved week of tackling the next two covers in my queue. I had been hyper-focused on doing the one, but I find I missed juggling between two visual projects. Like writing, I always have one thing marked as priority, but I'll keep a couple of manuscripts on the side when I feel as if my muse needs a change of pace. I might have mentioned a time or two before that juggling, while making everything take longer as it competes for attention, actually makes me far more productive, provided I go in with the intention to make something of it. It doesn't have to be a grand finish, but I like to derive at least one clear purpose then be pleasantly surprised should it yield more benefits. I have some stories that may never reach resolution, but there's a good chance I've dropped a scene in there that will actually be fully realized in something I publish later.

In fact, I've become aware that there are some themes that I revive time and again. Nothing wrong with that since many successful writers (in any definition of success) often revisit a theme that they feel has even more potential in a completely different setting. Even in that case, writers are capable of doing this without stumbling on the same exact concepts. 

In my case, I find myself intrigued by the concept of Gods. Not in any real-life religious sense and I rarely ever dip into active theologies, preferring to dabble in mythologies. Not because it's 'safe' (since there are plenty of trolls out there ready to call someone a cultural bigot for taking liberties in fiction), but rather because it's a gold mine. There is something romantic, poetic even, about these beliefs that had once been the cornerstone of human morality simply shed over the course of history. Muses themselves are a byproduct of these fanciful ideas with no clear answer. If gods existed, they were understood to be flawed and not omnipotent, immortal at best, hard to kill at least; yet another system these people used to comfort themselves against the unknown and unjust. And just as often used it to enforce their ideas or explain the tyranny. Beliefs are inherently a survival tool and even atheists will admit that belief is necessary. If only to balance the ego, it's good practice to consider there are forces higher than 'human'. Not that they are organized or perfect or even sentient, just that we don't know everything and doubt is healthy.

It's a very vast and intriguing topic for me. For me, religion and belief have been a gauntlet. I hadn't known 'religion' was a thing until partway through elementary school when my best friend at the time asked me what religion I was. Having no answer, I asked my dad what religion 'we' were. He was understandably confused. I knew what God and Jesus were, but I had never heard the term Christianity. Even when my family would speak of God, it was mentioned in terms of belief rather than order and practice. My dad told me 'Protestant' which made just as much sense to me as my question did for him. I had started going to church with that friend and while I enjoyed the kind atmosphere, there was something always off about how much of a punishment it seemed to turn my brain off to sit through a sermon. 

I'd like to add here that this is no way is meant to insult people who find church meditative but, for me, I found 'God' through the crafts and cookies rather than the weird smelly tomes stacked behind the pews.

I've read the Christian Bible, mind you. Many times, even. Okay, I definitely skipped over Numbers after the first painful attempt. From the time my friend first introduced me to religion, I had battled with what belief meant to me well into my teens before I allowed myself to doubt. It was not a time for friendly faces anymore. If you've ever seen the movie The Devil's Advocate, you'd remember how the main character's wife was rubbing elbows with the wives of her husband's coworkers and she say their faces contort into demons. Rather than my Christian friends becoming demons in reality, it left me with the same sick vibe when I was admonished for asking questions riddled with doubt.

Needless to say that while I backed out of Christianity, even then I wasn't quite ready to feel the abandonment of belief altogether. I gathered library books on every religion in practice and while all of them had incredibly enlightening points, there was always something of a blind spot to the ritual of practice and discipline that I couldn't get behind. It wasn't an easy path to a state of non-belief and I have never faulted people for their beliefs or felt the need to tell them they are wrong (nor do I feel certain I am right for that matter). Even now, some of my best friends are Christians, some even devout Catholics. They are confident and secure people who don't judge me poorly or condemn me to hellfire. We don't discuss religion. On occasion when one of their kids asks about my beliefs, I feel it is my responsibility to honestly state I have no theological beliefs, I am not spiritually focused, but I do respect those who choose to practice peacefully. If people choose to indoctrinate their kids, it is not my business. It is no different than the many other ways that children emulate their parents.

Essentially, we can all relate more than we realize. We all have different ideas of church or dedication or morality, but look at how many of those terms are very similar in nature. Some people will offer prayers, good vibes, hopes, the better side of karma (which, while touted as lazy, is sometimes truly all we can do despite the way the internet has made a stink of it). In fact, I feel like religion and mythology have a big-picture sort of unity. It can be abused or useful as so many other things humans lay hands on. We might mince words or balk at the unfamiliar but we're all here wondering why we're here. Is there a purpose? Perhaps, but I've come to terms that there may not be, so I'd just as well craft the best life I can and explore it through my own 'church'.

Not looking to start any religious debates. I am also not the ambassador of all things atheism. It's not a belief system and some of us can't rightly stand the arrogance of the more extreme voices either. While I do remind people that I am aware I am voicing opinions, I do not set out to vilify anyone. I do have the bias of my own experience and reasons that are perfectly valid and anything but ignorant.

Really though, isn't mythology some of the most colorful creation of humankind's search for answers? Roman, Greek and Norse mythologies are fairly well-known but Irish was a deeper rabbit hole than I expected. They did not just ascribe sentience to gods ruling over human emotion or domain but they gave life to the rivers themselves. If you ever get a chance, start with the Fomoire and the Danae and look forward to my second trilogy being inspired by it. I may have some creative takes that you'll find interesting.

On that note, I could use some serious sleep. Even these micro goal days can wear a chick out.

Keep writing! Your audience is out there.