We are All Human

Thematically, the stories of a man's struggle (or a woman's) with their principles and beliefs are the most compelling to me.  When we allow ourselves to be seen, truly seen as authors are able to share, then our human-ness rises to the surface in profound ways.  The whisky priest in Greene's Power and The Glory,  Marlow's quest up the Congo in Conrad's Heart of Darkness and much of what Le Carre writes where emotion and honour are fraught and mixed in the Cold War in his many wonderful stories.  In all these examples and many more, the humanity of our fellow person touches us.  The themes play out successfully in modern story-telling too as they transcend time - look no farther than Yondo's sacrifice for the same theme.

A grand struggle makes for a fine narrative, all the more compelling when we see the person underneath, laid bare before us in their pain, and truths.  I'm drawn to that as it allows a connection between us that's all too rare in these modern days we live in.  So with this mind to have seen this firsthand and to have played a role in it recently was wrenching and personal.  When any of us are reduced to have to question exactly who we are and what we believe is riveting theatre, but less so when it's the person next to you in the 'stage' of their lives.

'We must do, what we must do' is both enfeebling and empowering, knowing our destiny is uncertain and our choices all matter. To witness the decision making, knowing how very hard they are to make is humbling.  We are all human, no matter if we forget that or not.