What is your mission in life? What sort of mark do you want to leave on this planet after you leave it?

Every human needs a reason to live. I am going to talk about writers in this piece, because, well I am one. However, what I propose is for everyone. I have said before that as a writer you must have a cause behind your writing. The why of your life. That is true of everyone. Your life is important. What you do with it is in your hands. Whether you write, sing, paint, build things, serve people in some compacity, you need a cause. That one thing that you are uniquely qualified to do.

I call it the Why of your Life: it is a Personal Cause or Individual Mission.

Everyone because of their experiences, talents, and skills have unique causes. You may be one of several house builders in your family, but the only one who is skilled in a particular type of woodworking. You may be one of several workers in a group, but you have that one skill that everyone comes to you when it is needed.

Artists, teachers, doctors, skilled tradespeople, musicians, on and on I could go…..everyone has that one thing, that spark that is their’s alone. It is that cause that will leave your mark on this planet when you leave it.

Having a personal cause, a platform is the best way to stay focused on your core reason for writing. To look at my book page you would think that I have a broad and storage platform. I write contemporary fiction, romance that sometimes gets very close to erotica on occasion, fantasy adventure and nonfiction about several topics that seem unrelated. The continuity lies in the thread of truth that flows through everything I write, even my fiction.

The Why of my life is this:

There is no greater force in the universe than divine, Agape, unconditional love. Love is my compass. Every human deserves love and compassion. Yes, EVERY HUMAN. If you filter everything you do and say through love equality, compassion, empathy, and respect WILL follow as the natural result of sharing divine love.

In my stories where an evil force is out to devour all the good in the land love conquers. When I write about romance, death, addiction, sex, murder….whatever it is, I filter it through love, all powerful. I do not place love in a category of softness or demeanor of weakness.

Your cause will be different. Your mission will be unique to you. Once you find that thing, that spark that lights your fire to write and you use it as your guide, your writing will be your best work. Once you see that you can hold firm with your cause it will move from your brain and writing to your daily life. You will find that it is easier to live it in all you do than to hide it under a basket when you are at your day job or not writing.

Do not compromise your cause, your mission will weaken and so will your writing. You will falter if you give in to the pressure of others to write to please them. You know the ones who say, why do you care about X? Why on earth did you write that?

Frankly, you do not owe anyone any explanation if they come at you with judgment. If they ask out of curiosity or because they want to know more about you and your work, tell them if you wish.

Your cause is yours. You do not have to explain why.

Be true to your mission.

~Lori O’Gara