Once upon a time, there was a man...

Once upon a time there was a man.  He had a family who loved him and a loving wife who adored him.  He had spent his life always doing what he thought was the right thing.  He was honorable and acted with integrity.  The man always struggled with voices, not audible voices, but thoughts, both positive and negative that could influence his life and decisions.  Long and hard was the struggle to cling to the positive voices, the voices of hope, dreams and joy.

As he grew older, and after many years of hard work, some would call him a workaholic, who never seemed to give up.  After those many years, he became tired and burned out, for what he was doing did not bring him the joy it once did, because it was all based on money and how much he could earn.   When he came to realize, this is not what life is, and happiness is not an abundance of wealth, his view of his own life and that of his family had changed.

He remembered when he was a boy, the worlds he made with his imagination.  Dreams, that even though he worked endless hours he never forgot.  Soon he began to realize, what have I done with my life, what can I do to bring maybe a sparkle of joy, a glint of hope or even a shard of wonder to it and to others.  Thus he began to write, and write he did, about fantastic worlds that could only exist in dreams.

As time went by life changes occurred.  The job that he thought we would have for another 30 years ended abruptly.  It was a storm he saw coming, but the way he lived and the values he now held dear changed. The way he viewed his life and that of his beloved family changed as well.

In the moment of what seemed as failure, was to become a glimmer of hope.  Through the prompting and encouragement of his wife, he returned to school to learn new things, skills and tools that would help him build his worlds which he had for so long carried in his mind.  Gradually, a spark of enthusiasm and new life welled up inside of him as he began to see the images that had only once been in his mind or on a sheet of paper whether they be words or sketches, now come fully to life on a brazened screen of amplified light.

Never before had he reached this potential to build worlds, form civilizations and develop enduring characters, until now.  Dreams soon becoming reality.

As with every student the time of learning would pass, and the master would release his student into the world.  It was now up to this new and excited mind to begin developing those worlds and building them so that he could share them with others and bring hope and wonder to their lives.

He now faces new challenges, of what does the future hold.  Does he have enough faith to persevere against his own voices which taunt him and tell him he cannot do such things?  Or does he trust the kind whisper that says all things are possible for him who believes.  This man now stands at a crossroads.  There will be many challenges, challenges to the very dreams and visions he has had, things that may even threaten the very worlds he is building.  The question remains with him, what will he decide.  What voice will he choose to listen too.  For the sake of his loved ones and for the love of the people he may in time touch with wonder and joy, may he listen to that quiet whisper, "Never give up!"