Caring … the Ultimate Solution that Authors can Deliver
This past month has been a visual and verbal overwhelm from every type of media. Hate and violence spewed forth … and caring, loving, concern flowed like lava, burying the shouters, revealing the outrage and wrongdoing, and skyrocketing discussions. We authors have the power to enlighten, reveal, soothe, heal with our words. Are you?
I’m reminded of one of my childhood favorites that I pull down occasionally: E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. Wilbur the pig is desperate for a friend—his beginnings started as the runt of the litter and was saved/nurtured by Fern, the little girl who took a liking to him. Zuckerman’s barn is the setting and readers quickly discover that Wilbur is some kind of a pig—humble of self and radiant in his vibrant personality. Something that Charlotte the spider quickly notices—this pig is a different type of pig … to be cheered on, mentored, celebrated. Wilbur was different.
Somehow, I’ve always been on the lookout for the underdog … the Wilbur’s who needed the smile, the “what if we …”, a friendly face. Maybe it’s because I was so stranded as a kid, the unwanted girl of the “family” that it wasn’t until I was seven and connected with the “caring” side of humanity and the Wilkinson family took a little lost girl under their wings and then Joyce Briles and family stepped in when I was 12. I was the remodel project. They cared. I responded.
My kids would bring home “friends” who were having home problems … the family room was often converted to a temp sanctuary until things got settled down. Foster care for teens became part of John’s and my lives one evening when Jessica came home with us. Little did I know, that Planned Parenthood for these girls and attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings were to become part of my life. One letter that I received just before Thanksgiving one year was from Jessica … “Thank you for saving my life …”
My two adult kids were convinced that I was going through a midlife crisis—the empty nest syndrome. Nope … I just cared.
If I was back in the Civil War times, I would be an activist and an organizer of the underground to rescue and transition slaves. In modern-day times, my underground activist side was on behalf of women and children in the eighties—children who were physically and sexually abused by men. I helped get new identities and start them on their journeys to transition to new locations, usually new states. In the 80s, if I had been identified and caught, it would have been pokey time for me. I wasn’t … and I can only hope that safety was secured for them when I did the handoff. Few of my friends knew what I was up too, it had to be secret. After all, undergrounds are underground, buried from prying eyes. It was the right thing to do.
So, this blog is about caring. CARING about recognizing our biases and prejudices … yes, we all have them. About stepping up to the plate and declaring ENOUGH. To helping others in need, some desperately so. No one is born with hate or prejudice or biases. We are taught them. We learn them. And they can be unlearned.
We authors have the power to enlighten, to reveal, to soothe, to heal, and to care. Are you doing so with your words? I hope so …
Dr. Judith Briles is a book publishing expert, inspiration book coach and internet radio host. She is the author of 37 multi-award books, earning more than 40 national book awards collectively. She’s guided over 1,000 authors in creating their books, earned in excess of $3,000,000 in speaking fees based on her books and gathered over $2,000,000 in onsite book sales at her speaking gigs. Her book, How to Create a $1,000,000 Speech flips a difficult topic into a simple and easily comprehensible plan. If you want to get into speaking, this is the guide that will be the game-changer to success. And, if you want to know more about Judith’s life, her book of “hope” is When God Says NO-Revealing the YES When Adversity and Loss Are Present. You can get it HERE.
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