Dare Mighty Things -Win Glorious Triumphs

“No man is an island, entire of itself………..Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.”

Words to live by.

I am a writer of stories. I give lectures on the subject, “What Makes A Good Story?” I begin by informing my audience, “Story is not about the tragedy, but about how people react to the tragedy.”

We all experience tragedy in our lives, even if it was not our personal trauma.  When

John F. Kennedy was shot, I was seventeen years old.  My daughter was a month old.  Carried through the air by the technology of television, the death knell traveled 725 miles from Dallas, Texas to my hometown of Springfield, Illinois, and announced my future on a black and white TV screen. Although I had lost my innocence months before, now on that November 22^nd   day, my country, too, had lost its naiveté.

 

I did not mourn the loss of the 1950’s simplicity nor did I demonstrate for the increase of truth in the 60’s.   I have cried many tears since that November day. The sharp pain of 9-11 cut deep and I knew the impact Pearl Harbor. The needling aches of Ft Hood, Texas, Sandy Hook, Connecticut,  Colorado Springs, Colorado and now Orlando, Florida have become constant, numbing, and no longer uncommon.  When the San Bernardino Shootings occurred in my California back yard and threatened my own family, I could no longer stand by and be the philosopher. The bell tolled for me.

Solutions flood our airways like a tsunami. Guns, no guns, gay tolerance, Muslim intolerance, hate and love, religion and war. I live in a nation rich with power, invention, and freedom, yet I struggle daily not to lose my vision.  

These are sad and difficult times. I don’t want to be one of those poor spirits who Teddy Roosevelt described as "living in the grey twilight we know not victory or defeat." I want to see past the tragedies and obstacles which I know I must overcome. I want to focus on the faith that a bigger picture exists.  I want to dare mighty things and win glorious triumphs.

As a writer, I want to write the story of mighty things and glorious triumphs and know that the bell tolls for freedom.

 No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

John Donne

God Bless America

 

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