Shmorgh is Bored – the Interweb Home of Randy Henderson

My social media feeds are chock-a-block full of posts from writers promoting the books they’ve written and published or had published.

I just want to pause a minute and point out why this is actually frakking AWESOME!  And say how AWESOME all of you writers and artists and creators are.  And what an awesome and wonderful time we live in!  And no, I’m not (just) high on caffeine and sugar right now!

 

And now, I’m going to get deep for a sec to explain why I think you’re all awesome.

 

One of the things that truly boggles my mind is people who have no real passions in life. And in this context, I’m not counting a passion for their loved ones and children, which is a perfectly worthy and lovely thing but is to be expected (even if, sadly, not always realized). Nor do I count religious devotion in this definition of passion, or devotion to the local sportsball team, etcetera.

Rather, I mean some art or skill they strive at, some achievement they pursue, some (non-religious, non- child-related) impact they hope to make on the world, some grail that they quest for.  And not with the sole goal of monetary riches, but because it makes their life richer, and potentially the world and/or the lives of others a little richer.

• For many, this passion involves creating something, whether it is creating stories, games, artworks, music, artisan furniture, custom clothing designs, the most amazing pies, or whatever, because it fills them with joy and a sense of accomplishment to learn and improve and do these things, even if the end result is not something they ever sell or want to sell commercially.
• For some, it is achieving some level of true excellence in a physical or mental skill, which often leads to a more balanced and engaged life, a true happiness that has a positive ripple effect.  They want The Glow.  Heck, I’d even count playing video games here if they are pursuing a national championship (and better yet, with ambitions to do something positive or inspiring with the platform and/or sponsorship money they gain).
• For others, it is activism or volunteerism of some kind, seeking to help solve a problem or help a group of people, to directly make the world and people’s lives better in some way.  This includes fostering or adopting children who have suffered trauma or damage of some kind (one example of an exception to my definition of passion as not including our love for our children).
• Or perhaps you do a little of all of these things, or your passion crosses all of these definitions.

Without my writing, I definitely feel like my life would have less of a point.  Don’t get me wrong, I have family and friends, and other interests, and I hope and try to make the world a better place in my own small ways.

But if you asked me what is the meaning of life, I’d probably says something like: “To strive to add something positive to the world so that you were not simply a waste of time and resources; to grow and potentially inspire or lift up others through your effort; and to do so in a way that brings you joy without making other people’s lives any suckier.” I’ve heard others say “To leave the world a better place than when you entered it,” which is a better soundbite but lacks the aspect of personal happiness, and begs the question of what is “better,” Mal. Also, the world might just get worse despite our best efforts, and why should we die feeling like we failed if we made an honest effort at accomplishing something, right?

So, since personally I believe there’s a better-than-even chance we simply cease to exist when we die, and this might be our one shot as “us” to do something, I just don’t understand folks who primarily spend their time doing, really, nothing.

• Seeking our own happiness is important.  Doing so by watching reality television, getting wasted, chasing material possessions, consuming, etcetera isn’t necessarily bad in moderation, but these things don’t generally challenge our potential, or help us to leave behind any kind of positive legacy.  In fact, they generally seem to do the opposite.  And the internal rewards such acts offer are usually fleeting.
• And while being a good parent is an incredibly important and difficult job, it is not in itself a personal legacy beyond creating more people who must themselves go on to do something positive (and if those children’s sole legacy are their own children, then really nothing is gained but more and more people consuming more and more resources and counting their children as their legacy).  [EDIT: See my comment below for a clarification on the term “legacy”).

But we live now in a time where it is easier than ever for more people to pursue their personal passions, to chase their dreams.  Certainly, there are still terrible inequalities in access to power and resources; and the luxury to chase one’s passions and the odds of success are impacted by varying degrees and types of privilege and circumstance and ability.  But generally speaking, computers and the interwebs alone open up so much possibility.

You want to be a writer?  You can access a ton of resources on how to write, edit, submit, and publish, as well as find local or virtual groups of likeminded writers, mostly for free or cheap online.  You can write a book, and self-publish it online.  Granted, there are deeper considerations if you want to actually be successful in writing and publishing a book, but again, it is perhaps easier than at any time in the past to do so.

And if you want to pursue some other passion, or find opportunities to support a cause you believe in, this too is easier than ever.

Like most of the folks reading this I imagine, I almost never click on a book link in my feeds unless I’ve already heard buzz about the book or I like the author (since, sadly, I can only read a finite number of books and have too many to read already).  It is rare my attention is truly grabbed by something new.  And of course, not every book in my feed is of a genre or topic that interests me.

I don’t mind folks promoting their book on occasion — I can definitely empathize with the dilemma of how to promote your book to people without, well, promoting your book to people. And there is, of course, a difference between promotion and spamming [EDIT: I further clarify in the comments below about the difference between Promotion vs spamming]

But I am genuinely thrilled and happy for every single person I see who has published a link to their book.

Because that means they wrote a book!  They spent many months (if lucky) striving toward something, creating something, living their passion and engaging in the genre they love in a deeply personal and meaningful way, and had the courage and determination to put that creation out into the world for others to enjoy.

That in itself is a HUGE achievement, and something to be incredibly proud of, independent of whether the book sells, or whether it is the best book ever written.  They contributed and participated rather than just consuming, they had the joy of writing (I hope) the kind of story they love to read, they overcame their doubts and fears, and perhaps will bring a bit of joy to someone else who needs it.

I count every one of these persons as part of a larger family of fellow creators and fans, a family that is (at least visibly via the interwebs) larger and more diverse than ever before.  And though there are, of course, the racist uncles and terrible-drunk aunts, I hold out hope that the family, overall, will continue to grow and be a source of support and inspiration and shared joy.

So yeah, my feed is chock-a-block full of writers promoting books that they’ve written and published, full of dreams pursued and passions embraced, and an unprecedented level of genre love and appreciation.

And gods, isn’t that a wonderful thing?