I spent the better part of the last few weeks doing intensive research on political trends.  While it certainly was not fun, the information will surely prove valuable for the future, and I am glad of that.  Having finished, however, I'm now taking a brief vacation from thinking of this world and immersing myself in fantasy.

I often tell myself that if a day comes when I no longer find myself willing to fight the political battles that I do, that I will gladly retire and write so I can dream of worlds that make better sense than this one sometimes does.  In that spirit, I wanted to write a little different blog today.

In fantasy, we find images of the world that we hope to create for ourselves.  It is a sad truth that our existence today, with its many material demands, does not allow those of us who were not fortunate enough to find ourselves living in splendor to be as we might choose.  But we find an escape, and a place to where our minds can wander and where there is understanding in fiction.

Truthfully, for as much as I am personally better at writing non-fiction, I think that people gain more through stories with people and action.  I think we look to put a narrative to our lives to make it make sense.  It is a very hard thing to accept that all is either chance or luck, and so we add context.  We make beginnings and endings, even as the only ones we truly know are those when this world appears and disappears in ending.

Fantasy is an escape from that, and fiction allows us to explore our dreams and their consequences.  We call to a higher part of ourselves, and find ways to envision dreams before they are realized.  It is why I always enjoy reading good fiction, and the more fantastic, the more appealing it seems to me.  The world has much wonder in it, but so much of that comes from the things we think not yet possible, but still they can be.  We might not sprout wings, but we can find something better in ourselves, and through our heroes, hardships, and even villains, there is always something more to be seen.

Go enjoy something fanciful yourself if you haven't.  You might find yourself quite happy when you don't expect it.