Uh-humina-humina

Those folks old enough to remember The Honeymooners will recognize this title as Jackie Gleason's characteristic mumble whenever he doesn't know what to say.  These days in the publishing industry, there's a lot of mumble-stumbling going on.  Nobody can say what the industry will look like in a couple years or a couple years beyond that. We know where we are heading eventually, but right now it is every author for herself when it comes to deciding what our particular publishing landscapes should look like.  Folks on both sides of the indie/traditional divide are both right and wrong about what works for others, regardless of the decisions they make for themselves.  Frankly, I'm tired of hearing folks balk at each other.  It reminds me of the scene at the dance in West Side Story where one gang and then the other scream mambo at each other.  Everybody is doing the same dance, the only thing that matters is which side of the floor you're on.  How about all of us making sure that authors have more choices and are treated more fairly no matter which way they decide to publish?

But I digress.  I am supposed to be talking about the Buddha, right?  In a way, I am.  We've moved to the part of the Eightfold path that focuses on Right Action.  And, yes, despite what the Supreme Court says, speech is action.  What we say has force and consequence.  Raise your hand if this sentence sounds familiar:  In the beginning was The Word.  If you follow the logic (and accept the premise) of this statement, our very existence was brought into being by speech.

Prayer, mantra use, affirmations and the like are all very powerful spiritual means of communication with the divine and our higher selves.  Written speech in the form of a novel is also very powerful.  The stories we value as a city or nation or as humans defines who we are.  As an author, the themes, symbols, characters we choose to include in our work speak volumes about us, and if we are lucky, they reach into the core of our readership to influence their lives as well.

But what message are we bringing?  Among the reasons I got into writing romance was the idea of demonstrating the strength of love's influence on the world.  Even when I write suspense it is with an eye to showing readers the impact that love, fear, anger, vengeance, joy and sorrow have on us in this world and to ask them to make a choice as to which ones to honor in their life.  What themes or ideas do you honor with your work?

On a final note, we are led to one of the most familiar caveats:  if you can't say something nice, hush up.  Buddhist philosophy warns against deliberate falsehoods, idle chatter, and from being unnecessarily harsh or offensive.  Only say that much that needs to be said in a gentle manner and no more. In this age of snark and cynicism and idle celebrity fascination, this is not easy advice to follow.  Much of our language has become so coarse that  f-bombs and other linguistic faux pas have become common place--even from elected officials. Forget chivalry, even civility is gasping for air.

Maybe it is time to lead a way back to a kinder, gentler form of discourse and dialog.  I'm game.  Are you?