Thought for today:
"It is often said and sometimes believed, that deep down in the core of our inner being, very few of us really change between childhood and old age. I am not particularly referring to our behaviour patterns or the way we respond to given situations, as everyone who lives and breathes is capable of changing the way they think, feel and do. No! What I'm referring to is that natural instinct and inclination that can draw a person to another type of creature with whom they naturally form a lifelong bond.
It is easier to understand in our very young as to why they become attached to all manner of creature, and in particular, the furry ones. As to our more aged citizen who lives alone and sometimes doesn't see another person for weeks on end, having a pet to keep them company, can often become their main lifeline.
In my years working as a Probation Officer, I knew a number of people who committed suicide and a few who were determined at the time, but who pulled out of their intended action at the last moment once they realised that were they to kill themselves, there would be nobody to feed their beloved pet when the cat's meal was due. Unfortunately, it is sometimes the thought of not being able to leave one's children or pets behind, that the disturbed adult irrationally chose to take them also!
I recently came across both these two images and when I placed them side-by-side, I could instantly imagine the lifespan of one person from cradle to grave. What makes this so, you might ask? With these two images, it was the thing in common they possessed that enabled the mind to enjoin both child and old man; the cat!
This process represents the means whereby I often map out a story plot for any book I write. I know that I won't go far wrong in developing the character if I follow the course of life and allow the old man to naturally grow out of the nature of child he was seventy or eighty years earlier. There is one main reason why this means of story construction always works and that is because it mirrors how life works. It represents how life is for each of us, whatever our childhood circumstances and experiences happen to be. We are but the clay in the potter's hands, the One who gives us life to experience, and shapes our destiny. What we befriend in childhood rarely desert us in old age." William Forde:December 3rd, 2016.
"It is often said and sometimes believed, that deep down in the core of our inner being, very few of us really change between childhood and old age. I am not particularly referring to our behaviour patterns or the way we respond to given situations, as everyone who lives and breathes is capable of changing the way they think, feel and do. No! What I'm referring to is that natural instinct and inclination that can draw a person to another type of creature with whom they naturally form a lifelong bond.
It is easier to understand in our very young as to why they become attached to all manner of creature, and in particular, the furry ones. As to our more aged citizen who lives alone and sometimes doesn't see another person for weeks on end, having a pet to keep them company, can often become their main lifeline.
In my years working as a Probation Officer, I knew a number of people who committed suicide and a few who were determined at the time, but who pulled out of their intended action at the last moment once they realised that were they to kill themselves, there would be nobody to feed their beloved pet when the cat's meal was due. Unfortunately, it is sometimes the thought of not being able to leave one's children or pets behind, that the disturbed adult irrationally chose to take them also!
I recently came across both these two images and when I placed them side-by-side, I could instantly imagine the lifespan of one person from cradle to grave. What makes this so, you might ask? With these two images, it was the thing in common they possessed that enabled the mind to enjoin both child and old man; the cat!
This process represents the means whereby I often map out a story plot for any book I write. I know that I won't go far wrong in developing the character if I follow the course of life and allow the old man to naturally grow out of the nature of child he was seventy or eighty years earlier. There is one main reason why this means of story construction always works and that is because it mirrors how life works. It represents how life is for each of us, whatever our childhood circumstances and experiences happen to be. We are but the clay in the potter's hands, the One who gives us life to experience, and shapes our destiny. What we befriend in childhood rarely desert us in old age." William Forde:December 3rd, 2016.
