Author's Note

On occasion, we set out to accomplish tasks that can be described as nothing short of monumental. Inevitably, Naysayers show themselves owners of the stereotype by spouting off about the impracticalities or impossibilities of extraordinary accomplishments. Rarely do Naysayers offer useful commentary, preferring to jar one’s hopes with their own special brand of negativity. Much like a tsunami, the Naysayer’s tidal wave is enough to crush the early momentum necessary for the average person to continue toward their lofty goals. However, one who recognizes Naysayers as victims of verbal vomit, also recognizes that these very same Naysayers are also self-aggrandizing projectors putting onto others that which is only true of themselves. In other words, when a Naysayer speaks negativities they prove their own incapacities, impracticalities, and impossibilities. The average person fails to obtain their goals when they quit acting in conjunction with their personal potential for accomplishment as when they take a Naysayer’s negativity to heart. By understanding that a Naysayer speaks of their own potential through projection, the average person can flip incoming negativity into outgoing positivity.

Here’s a simple formula for counteracting negativity:

Naysayers, “Nay.”
Therefore, I “Aye.”

Regardless of each individual’s future potential, in most cases, we’re all interested in making it through each day. Depending on our individual lots in life, that day-based interested can indeed be a monumental accomplishment. For instance, in the TerraDamnata Author’s Note, I discussed the beheadings that bloggers currently face in some countries. For those bloggers, the sharing of ideas carries a penalty—brutality and death—far greater than the mere upsetting of Naysayers. Imagine living in a place where the act of vocalizing (or writing) an idea means subjecting yourself to the potential for death. In these places, self-expression is subjugated to the whims of outside forces which arbitrarily decide what is and is not acceptable. Self-expression in a “wrong” manner thus leads to penalties as minor as fines and as major as forfeiture of life.

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Anyone with access to American news, can see that America’s troubles run deep, and her citizens are not as free as they ought to be. As with all people, our politics play out in the streets while our politicians take payouts behind closed doors. We haven’t accomplished the monumental tasks handed to us by myriad generations of Americans who hadn’t accomplished the monumental tasks handed to them. Our blood-soaked history proves how very far we still have to go. Even so, to Americans the very act of self-expression is part-and-parcel to the ideals inherent in the Right to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Failure to achieve these “Inalienable Human Rights” is precisely why Americans maintain the struggle for the lofty principles set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

That every year politicians and misguided citizenry attempt to subject fellow citizens to an onslaught of legislation designed to reduce rights and subjugate individuals only serves as a reminder that the cry of “Constant Vigilance” is a necessity. That is why, every year, in stark contrast to those attempting to reduce rights, others attempt to expand or recover rights. Without vigilance, self-expression is criminalized, rights are usurped, and freedom becomes fantasy.

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As I wrote Terra Damnata, I learned a number of lessons about expectation. Without internet in the house, blogging a weekly serial is much more complex and subjects the author to time requirements that otherwise would not exist. While I had the early expectation of maintaining a regularly scheduled time for publishing each chapter, the reality of inconsistent internet availability made regular scheduling much more difficult to obtain. In fact, I was frequently lucky to publish the serial at all on Saturdays. For example, during the winter months severe weather disrupted the library’s internet signal. On a couple of occasions, the signal stayed down for three or more days.

For Ignes Fatui, I harbor the fantasy that I am better prepared, with fewer expectations. I know that at least once this winter I will sit on a bench outside the library at 3 AM running Windows Diagnostics in a feeble attempt to get the wifi to cooperate long enough for me to publish that week’s chapter. Book 2 starts 31 October 2016, which happens to be a Monday this year. That means that each new chapter will now be published on Mondays. I may be deluding myself, but I expect fewer problems with Monday as a publishing day based on the premise that the library here is actually open on Mondays. Of course, time will tell.

Welcome to the fray. A monumental task is right here waiting.

~Monique Finley

10/31/2016