RESPONSE TO ANNE MARVIN'S BLOG POST: PAYING IT FORWARD

Please check out her awesome blog post here: http://www.truthinfantasy.com/blog/paying-it-forward
Anne,

You are a genius. I’m so amazed that you have discerned major portions of my personal life philosophy from a few subtle passages in The Light Who Shines.

Normally, I try not to comment on blog posts about my work. But, in this case I couldn’t help myself. The topic is important.

I believe in a collective pot of community. Sometimes we feed into it, sometimes we take from it. 

This is a bit like managing a collective budget. Clearly we (the US) are in a hole now, but we are less in the hole than we were 6 years ago. Why? Because more people are putting in the pot, then are taking out. So we are gaining on our debts.

We can look at this pot collectively, or we can look at our individual pots. When I was a young single parent I didn’t pay much into the pot (taxes) and I received some from the pot (child care credits, education assistance, etc.). But now I’m a very successful corporate employee and on my way to becoming a successful writer, so I’m paying into the pot a lot more than I take out. I’ve more than paid back my “loan” so to speak. However, that isn’t quite enough, as I know that eventually I’ll be retired, and need to take from the pot again. So I’m still “paying it forward,” as you say.

In the end, I’ll pay in more than I take out. Hey, that isn’t fair! But frankly, I don’t care. Some people have the capacity and opportunity to be successful financially and pay more into the pot than they take out, and some people don’t. I’m glad I’m one of the people who can. It is important that we all do what we can.

Of course this happens socially as well. We have a collective pot of “Good Will” and the size of that collective pot, more than anything, determines the general happiness of our society. I try to forgive people and give people grace, knowing that one day I’ll need to be forgiven and I’ll want grace. I have in the past, and I’m sure I will again. Jack Tanner understands this truth.

Now, let’s look at Blue. She has had a raw deal. Her parents were killed by Dark Vampires, many of the Norms hate her simply because she is Gifted, and she deals with breedism (a form of discrimination and prejudice) every day. Yet, she still gives to society by fighting for interbreed peace, often risking her life. She helps even those who hate her. She is paying it forward in hopes of a better future for all. Blue’s deal gets more and more raw as the book continues and as bad as her deal is at the end of the book, her deal is even worse in the future books. But, every day, she holds her spine straight and says, “I’m going to make this world better, if it kills me.” And it almost does.

This fighting for what is right is why people have called her a “True Heroine” you can look up to. But, I’d just like to point out that Blue is modeled after the good that I see in every day people who trudge to work, take care of their kids, pay their taxes, and volunteer in their community. That is why people respond to her so well. She is our heart. She is the best of all of us common folks struggling to add to the community pot of good will. Some of us common folks have the opportunity to be a celebrated hero and some of us don’t. I mean, if we know how to swim and we saw a kid drowning, which of us would not jump in to save them? This heart is in all of us. Reading The Light Who Shines reminds us of those people and reminds us that we are those people.

So when you read The Light Who shines and your heart shines with joy at Blue's purity of spirit, strength of will, and determination, it is because you are recognizing in her what we all strive to be. I hope everyone reading this will take a moment to pat yourself on the back. Kudos to us all for doing what is right, even when it is hard, and especially when it is mundane everyday life. We are making a richer pot of Good Will for all to enjoy.

Lilo