Upside down lives...

In recent weeks it has been repeatedly proven that the most valuable roles in each of our lives are not the ones that get valued the most, generally speaking.

I am referring to the deliverers, the orderlies, the cleaners, the collectors, the stackers, the drivers, the carers, the growers and the nurses.

It has been people performing these jobs that have kept my life comfortable, and it is not the first time that I find myself wondering how upside down we often get things. Why are these people not celebrated on a more general basis? Why is it that their “value” only becomes apparent when Mr Maslow’s pyramid is stripped bare, decayed by a human wide fear-event?

I have a theory; that it is exactly because of our frail humanity that we behave this way – turning away from anything that points to how gossamer thin our safety is, disregarding how easy it is to have our comfortable lives unravelled. To look this plain reality fully in the face is too scary.

So, as bizarre as our slavish worship of individuals whose skills are, for example, an aptitude to kick a ball about a field, it is symbolic of our need to forget about our vulnerability, to move our minds towards lighter and less threatening thoughts and realities. We share an ability to ignore the obvious about our lives, to concentrate on the unnecessary often at the expense of the vital. To focus on our own needs and wants before those of others.

Elizabeth Gilbert in her book ‘Big Magic’ writes of how useless most creative types would be in a post-apocalyptic world. I agree with her! My skills just wouldn’t prove that useful to my survival! That’s true of most people’s “role” in this modern world. Strip away the luxuries of modern life, return our lives to “war-footings” and most of what we celebrate and value would not, could not, continue to exist.

Bell Hooks in her book, ‘All About Love’, speaks of our society’s obsession with death. We watch movies about it, we play video games about it, we write books about it (I did), and we all try to stay young, worshipping the cult of youth in the hope, presumably, that we may be the first to avoid death. Whilst some of this is understandable and, I would go so far as to say, part of the normal human-condition, it is interesting that society doesn’t place as much time, attention and value into being loving, into being fair and into recognising our mass connection. Until, that is we are made to suffer and feel pain.

The film ‘Constantine’ features a frustrated Angel Gabriel who is sick of humanity’s treatment of each other; war, famine, greed, in the face of the gifts that we have been given. Gabriel – at least this heightened comic book version - decides to put the whole of humanity into utter peril and condemn us to insufferable pain. Not as a punishment though. No, the narrative goes that this is the only way Gabriel has seen humanity reach for our best values, our higher selves. When we have been stripped back to our barest needs, when we have nothing else left but our innate sense of connection to one another, or our compassion and our hope that better things may come.

Imagine though, a society which did acknowledge every day, in really valuable economic ways, how vulnerable we all are. Would this world feel fairer, would it in fact feel less threatening?

One of the characters in both my published books – and who features heavily in my, coming-soon, third – is a spectacularly selfish character who has spent his whole, fear-filled life gathering wealth and power in the steadfast belief that it will protect him. His protagonist has a different view of how his salvation may be achieved, and she is going to give him the lessons and provide him with the irrefutable proof of it - whether he likes it or not!

In this manner, this character learns what these past few weeks have made me think about. I am left wondering this – perhaps this life of mine was never meant to be actually about ‘me’, ‘myself’ and ‘I’?

Perhaps, I wonder, what I am intended to consider is ‘you’ and ‘we’ and ‘us’.

P.S.  I posted a free-giveaway of the audiobook version of my first novel, 'The Point of Me, Beyond Veils, Book One' on my Facebook and Instagram accounts the other month. It is a small gesture in the grand global scale of the crisis, but might just help one person feel a little less isolated or even bored. There are still some free-codes left. So if you would like to have a free audiobook to listen to - then use the Contact-Me form on my website and let me know. If you know of a friend or family member who might want to take advantage of this, then please do share this blog post with them.

P.P.S May I ask for a bit of help from you now? Would you consider writing a review for my second book, The Truth of Her, Beyond Veils, Book 2? It needs to catch up with it's 'big brother', my first book, in the 'number of reviews posted' stakes! If you have finished reading The Truth of Her - or are getting close to - maybe you would consider letting me, and other potential readers, know what you thought of it by writing up a quick Amazon review (this is the third most helpful thing you can do for my writing career, just behind buying the book and reading the book!). Click here to be taken straight to the Amazon page.

P.P.P.S Are there other helpful things you can do for me? Well yes, thank you for asking! You could let your friends and family know about your enjoyment of The Truth of Her, and encourage them to consider purchasing a copy for themselves. If you fancy doing this, well I've taken some of the hassle out of it for you by doing a pre-prepared Facebook and Twitter post! Just click on those links and post away. You will have my lasting gratitude, helped me contribute towards the household bills, and earn a 'super-fan' star for yourself.

(all book/audiobook links in this post are affiliate links, meaning that if you click on them and then go on to buy, I will get a few more pennies to add to my sales royalties. The price to you remains the same though).