codecalla

One particular theme that shows up in many books, movies, and games is forgiveness.  People pursue forgiveness and either are rewarded with it or denied for some reason.

It’s unfathomable to me that judgment is used like a sledgehammer in many real-life contexts.  It can create tension in a story, but in real life, it’s heart breaking.

Forgiving others is allowing ourselves to be human.  The need to present ourselves as always perfect or maintain the lie is debilitating as a human being.  If we cannot allow ourselves to grow from our mistakes, then despair is ever present.  It’s no wonder people lose their way.

To allow ourselves to become more than what we are, or perhaps to become more truly what we are, we should consider very carefully before sitting in judgment or denying forgiveness.  It’s not as much damaging to the person unforgiven, as it is to the person holding the grudge close to their heart and filling up with bitterness.

To be fair, I haven’t really developed a true sense of creating and managing themes for writing stories.  I start with characters and work through them to find their stories.  Themes are a byproduct of their needs, desires, and travails.  However, I think this is important enough to be considered seriously as a potential theme.  We need forgiveness in real life as we do in fiction (although it can be very satisfying to see justice as well).  How can we grow?  I do wish to avoid didactic narrative, as preachiness can affect the willingness of the readers to connect to the story and the characters, but I hope that I may give some small voice to these concerns through characters in the future and beyond.

There are many different interpretations of forgiveness and what is unforgivable.  I think we need to be careful in our decisions.