.:Dreams and Swords:.

Redemption

Whether writers believe it or not, I believe that we add a little piece of ourselves to the things we write. Sometimes it is the reliving of an experience that changed us, whether life altering or not, and sometimes it is in the dream of possibility that makes the idea or the scheme come to life through the page. Either way, we are all searching to resolve the conflict inside of our minds. Through writing we can achieve what we couldn't physically.

Going over all the story I have in my head I have finally found the link that compels each of my characters and the lives that they live. Redemption. I am searching for redemption.

It was in talking with a fellow writer from WDC that I realized where I had lost myself amongst all the trappings of writing a story. As I was telling them where I was with the character arc and story plot of the first of a series of books I hope to write, a question popped into my head that hasn't been able to simply fade away - what is the point of redemption? 

I grew up in a religion doctrine that said all could be forgive should we just ask for it. However, as I have grown as a human being, I have found that the world is not as forgiving as my God is. People, in almost all walks of life, have a breaking point where they will turn on their own family or closest friend should they cross the invisible boundary placed on morality.

What is the breaking point? What is the point where you say enough is enough and turn away from the offender in need? And is there any hope for redemption?

The characters of my work are broken - in physical, emotional, or both. I can agree that we are all broken in some way, dwelling in lives of imperfection. It is in the hope that our transgressions will one day be erased or forgiven that many people continue to keep going on with their lives.

In contemplating this theory, I have come to the realization that this is why I favor the mythical bird, the Phoenix so much. After a long life of experience, the phoenix lies in a nest and sets itself aflame, only to be born from the ashes of its renewal. Rebirth is probably one of the most extreme forms of redemption to be imagined.

So I posed the same questions to I wrote above to anyone who reads and responds to this blog entry. What is the breaking point?
                   What is the point past redemption?
                                       Is it possible to be forgiven past the point of no return?