"Evolving Backwards"?

Hola, mis amigos! 🙋‍♀️

In All Authors Publishing House we get asked a bunch of questions. Most of them come from a conversational point of view. However, a lot of times they become assignments. Here is one of those questions.

Is there such thing as evolving backwards?

🤔 Food for thought? Absolutely!

Without further ado, here is my answer.

"Evolving backwards" to me is synonymous with Devolution which is indeed a thing. Look it up.

With that said, lets get to the nitty gritty, shall we?

1, 2, Cha-cha-cha!

DEVOLUTION Meaning:

(1) The transfer or delegation of power to a lower level.
(2) Descent or degeneration to a lower or worse state.

Now that I have proven that Devolution is a thing I could potentially end this blog entry. 😆 But I don't think that was the point of the question. I guess I am supposed to talk about it in the realm of my writing career. So here we go.

Can an author devolve? 🤔💬

The easy answer is that many things in life, authors not exempt, can devolve. Lots of things are subject to regressing in one way or another.

However we aren't looking for an easy answer here. We're looking for something more. With your permission I'll give this a go and see how much more enlightenment I can bring, if any.

I look at evolution like a plant. This applies to all facets of life and nature. You can't plant a bean and expect it to grow backwards. It will grow upwards and outwards and one day die to lay way for a new bean to do the same, better this time.

It is said that we, human beings, started off as apes. Now whether or not I believe that tale is up for debate but I can see the logic behind it. So let's use that as an example.

If we indeed came from the prehistoric ape then one had to die in order for the next to take its place. The one who is born from the old is better than its predecessor. Just like with the bean. The above gif is a great example of just that.

In my humble opinion that same premise applies to our mind and hearts. You must say good bye to the old in order to welcome the new. The better. And once the new has come the old cannot return.

Let me put my own life up for example.

The bible says, "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13. Now, I am not the most religious type but I do find truth in that statement.

Evolution is called such because it is the gradual development of something, especially from a simple existence to a more complex form.

Let's look at the spiritual value of this meaning.

In my younger and greatly immature years I found solace in vengeance, laughter in hysteria, and meaning in emptiness. I thought that I knew when indeed I was oblivious.

I thought that I knew the meaning of love. You know, what whole "happily ever after" that fairy tales portray. I thought that I knew the meaning of sacrifice; if I gave up spending these five dollars today then I'd have ten to spend tomorrow. I thought I knew what maturity was; I folded my laundry after washing it. I thought I knew what independence was; I could cook all on my own.

Oh, how wrong I was.

With time came wisdom. With wisdom came depth of understanding. I now know that true love means loving unconditionally; good, bad or otherwise. I could see what true sacrifice is; putting yourself and desires last in order to provide someone else's needs. Maturity now meant not living in a reactive state of mind but a proactive one. Independence meant surviving without the assistance of anyone, not being codependent but interdependent. 

While I do know that nothing is completely exempt of devolution I also know this ... the one lesson that I learned that would supersede the rest was ...

Once my eyes had been open to the profundity of all these things they could never be closed again. Meaning that once I understood them, I could never not (double negative here, but you get what I mean).

When my evolution had taken place, I could not devolve.

From a mental-emotional and spiritual perspective I could not grow backwards. The proverbial "you can't unsee". The shedding of the old, paved the way for the new and the new was of far greater value.

This translated into my every day life, my understanding, and yes, even my writing. Now I also know that when my tree eventually dies it will have laid the groundwork for an even better one to take its place.

Basically and simply put, no, you can not evolve backwards.

Speaking Of Fire ...

🙋‍♀️

Hola, my friends!

So, speaking of fire, I was asked a question. It was ...

If you could define your writing career in terms of one of the stages of fire, which would it be and why?

Basically, this is a hot question. 😄 See what I did there? I amuse myself.

Now, time to answer it. In the famous words of Nephew Tommy, "Buckle up and hold on tight. We got it for you ...!"

My beloved friend and co-author, Y. Correa, who is the maister of all things science and would turn this question into a science project. I am not going to endeavor to answer this question in a scientific manner. After all, I'm not the most scientific person anyway. I am going to respond to this question with my heart and feelings. I may throw in some metaphors as well. Okay, here we go.

Let's start with the following:

What does fire mean to me?

Apart from being the perfect means of roasting a marshmallow, it signifies a myriad of levels and emotions in my writing life. To try to encompass my entire writing career with a single stage of fire would be to lie. That's not my cup of tea.

My writing career has been like a perennial roller coaster ride. Up and down and all around. Just like fire, if you think about it.

Fire is nothing if not passè and eternal simultaneously. While contradictory, it is also fact. Bear with me, I promise this will make sense by the end.

Speaking Of Ignition

How many of you can recall the very first time you felt that spark of inspiration that made you want to get up and do something, whatever that was?

I know you know what I am talking about. That momentary NEED to get up and DO that one that was calling your name. Whether that was draw a picture, make a sculpture, create something ... in my case, write.

I remember it like it was just yesterday.

I was sitting there reading a favorite book when I heard that little voice inside that said, "Rose, you can do this! You've always wanted to! Go! Run! Write!" It was a calling like no other. That spark that I knew would grow into a wildfire if I gave it way. Which, at the moment, was exactly what I intended on letting it do. I wanted the fire to consume me. I wanted to lose myself in the engulfing sensation of bliss and conflagration.

Speaking Of Expansion

Once that sparked started, the fire was a rearing. I sat at that desk, turned on the computer, opened up that Microsoft Word, and started to type away. The first lines that came to me were;

"A dull roar. That was all I could hear. Souls. That was all I could see. What was this that I was living? If you could call it living at all. I did not see people, but shadows. I did not feel life, but death. I did not feel emotions, but emptiness.

I did not feel... anything.

It was all a blur. Clustered together in an array of colors and shapes. The sound? That dull roar, it was difficult to make out."

It was Azriel's voice, the main character.

Inevitably the expansion grew into maturation.

Speaking of Maturity

Now I was irrevocably on fire. That spark had turned into a flame, which without fail, consumed me. At this point, I couldn't stop. Furthermore, I didn't want to. I needed, at all costs, to finish this story. It was now out of my control and completely in my control all at once.

Just like the levels of fire—a tangible but surreal oxymoron.

The characters had taken control and the flames were ablaze. But guess what? I loved it! Every second of it was unmitigated joy. I'd suddenly come alive. This was the real me—unfiltered. A goddess creating an unknown world where I was the driver being guided by its passengers. This was who I was always meant to be. Moreover, the only place I wanted to be now and forever.

Ravaged, ravished, reborn, roaring and relishing.

Speaking of Blight

What is blight if not the corrosion and decay that is left behind when the fire has finished consuming all that lay before it?

I can't say whether is was the words "The End" or a true loss of gas that made the fire wither down into ashes.

"Ashes to ashes and dust to dust."

Somehow, I lost the vigor I once had to write. Could it have been the fact that the story had come to a close? Possibly the undeniable fact that I'd run myself rampant and the fuel that had been there had evaporated ...? I can't say. But just like the stages of fire, my zeal had wilted.

Speaking of Continuity

If there is one thing that is a core element of who I am, it is tenacity.

I found that all I needed was to take a breath. A break so that I could recoup the reserves I'd lost and with that recess came the re-ignition of my vigor.

So getting back to my initial statement and summarizing this post.

Fire is nothing if not passè and eternal simultaneously.

The one thing that will always remain true is that fire will never become extinct. It is an element for a reason. It's a pivotal part of all things in existence. We cannot exist if fire did not.

Fire eventually dwindles and is reborn. The cycle never ends.

Thus has my writing career been; as passè and eternal as fire.

Writing is an elemental part of who I am, hence it could never completely die. But just like with fire, it can dwindle down for a while and inevitably it will be reborn to consume me again and again. Forever.

Toodles,