If A Tree Falls In The Forest, Will Anyone Write About It?

     I have always said that I like to LOOK at nature, I like to think I like nature, but I don't like nature.  There are way too many bugs and webs and too much dirt.  Seriously, nothing ruins an inspirational gaze upon the fall foliage like a stink bug right night to your purse.  Oh, nature.
     So it is only logical that I surprise my self with how quickly I can forget all of the bugs and such and enjoy the scenery.  When I went exploring in the woods with my freshman on Friday, a couple times I stopped and loudly proclaimed how beautiful the sight was, before freaking out about poison ivy possibilities and what not.  We painted my room not too long ago, and gone are the floor-to-ceiling pink walls: my room is a nice yellowy-green with light brown tree wall stickers interspersed with a pink deer, a pink owl, and pink birds.  I love staring at my mock-forest.  It transports me to an enchanted forest of my imagination.
     Lots of movies and TV shows have beautiful backdrops, be it cartoon princess movies such as Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, or Arrow and Reign.  A beautiful forest, a creepy forest, a mysterious forest, A PIECE OF LAND WITH A BUNCH OF TREES is a fabulous compliment to most stories.
     But why?
     Why are we first introduced to Narnia in Lantern Waste, a forest.  Why does Gibbs have a cabin in the woods on NCIS?  Why does Red Riding Hood have to take her treacherous journey through a forest, why not along the beach or in a jungle?
     Forests, like onions and ogres, have layers.  There's the forest floor, where animals can burrow beneath underbrush.  There's the trees, where owls can scare you and squirrels can scurry and leaves can fall.  There's dense forests, where it's hard to find your path, and there are forests with clearings so that  you can have a picnic.  Forests can hold many symbols and opportunities for a story to develop.  The trees can represent strength.  Dryads are tree spirits and in Narnia each tree has a different dryad form.  Trees have personality and stability, making them great representations of humans and tradition and such.  Forests can represent safety with all of its are in which to hide (like how Snow White hid in the forest, and Sleeping Beauty was sent away to hide in the forest).  Forests can also represent danger and mystery, like how in Hansel and Gretel the unknown of the forest became their near-death experience.

     I learned in bio that legends of vampires and werewolves may have stemmed from people's perception of real illnesses.  If someone is sensitive to sun and people mistake them for witches, fleeing to the forest may be their only hope of survival.  Forests are an integral part of many beloved stories.
     Forests are a great tool for stories because they have so much to offer a scene.  Atmosphere can really make a scene come alive, and with the right description of a forest, for forests come in many varieties, one can create an amazing scene that controls the reader's senses so that their imagination transports them to a world beyond their control.  Forests offer so much depth to a story, for many things are possible in a forest, especially an enchanted forest.  You never know who you will run into or how you will survive.
     Also, forests are really pretty.
     So, the next time you find yourself marveling at God's beautiful handiwork in the form of forests, I hope you feel inspired.

     After all, if a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to see it, will people still write about it?
    

The Blog We've All Been Waiting For

      This is it.  This is the blog we've all been waiting for: this is my Narnia blog!  (Well, the first of many, haha!)
     In case you don't already know, I have what many call an "obsession" with The Chronicles of Narnia.  Also, I have been married to High King Peter since, like, fourth or fifth grade so don't even think about thinking about it!
     It seems only fitting to start with a blog post about The High King of Narnia, Sir Peter Wolfsbane, Peter Pevensie, originally from Finchley, England.

     The Chronicles of Narnia is laced with Biblical references (with the obvious including the Easter Story as told through Aslan sacrificing himself on the Stone Table to save the life of the traitor, Edmund Pevensie.  In the Bible, one of Jesus' most enthusiastic Apostles was Simon, whom Jesus renamed Peter, or Rock.  God built His church on the Rock, Jesus, but Peter also played a big part.
    Now that you sort-of have the Biblical background behind Peter, allow me to delve deeper into the character of Peter Pevensie in the book "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe".
    Peter Pevensie is the oldest of the four Pevensie children, and he has to step us as the father figure because their father is fighting in World War Two.  He feels the responsibility of a father, having to watch over his siblings as they travel to a strange new house in order to flee the air raids.  In Narnia, he makes sure to admit he was wrong to deny that Lucy had been to a magical land in the wardrobe.  He even tries to send his siblings home while he stays in Narnia to fight the war.  The gifts he receives from Father Christmas are a sword (named Rhindon) and a shield-- protection.   (Ephesians 6:16 ^"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.")
     What does all this mean?
     Peter is a superb leader.  He is sure to assume responsibility, he is sure to care for the ones he loves, and he is sure to do the right thing.  Peter the Apostle would help spread the story of Jesus Christ, and he is one of eleven Apostles who would lead the church through the ages (he wrote a couple books of the Bible).  Peter the Apostle was picked by Jesus for this job.  Peter Pevensie fought Maugrim by himself because Aslan prevented other soldiers from assisting him.  Aslan wanted him man-up.  Aslan himself coronated Peter, proclaiming him High King over Narnia and "Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen."  Aslan chose to rebuild Narnia on the reign of Peter and his siblings.
     Don't get me wrong, both Peters have their flaws.  Peter Pevensie had a bit of a stubborn, arrogant streak, and Peter the Apostle denied Jesus three times on Good Friday.  Good leaders with flaws-- after all, they are human-- that's just another parallel between the two men.
     What is the significance of all of this?  Well, The Chronicles help us learn morals through the lives of very relatable children.  Peter Pevensie is a fine (literally and figuratively) example that it IS possible for even a boy from  England to be a great leader.  The character of Peter and his biblical parallels show readers that there is a great leader inside of all of us waiting to be awakened.  Let's let the cute, blond, British High King of Narnia lead the way*.

*Keep in mind he's still mine.

All You Need Is Love

     Why does it seem that every good story has an element of romance in it?  More specifically-- why do stories include love?
     Think about it: The Princess Bride showed Westley's love for Buttercup, Inigo's love for his father, and Prince Humperdink's love of power.  James Patterson's Maximum Ride series not only had the romantic plot line of Max and Fang's relationship but also centered around the bond between the family of mutants.  Oh, and let's not forget the Easter Story, which is one of true, pure, and sacrificial love.  Be it love for another person or something as empty as love of power, every good story includes love.
     It doesn't surprise me that a desperate-in-search-of-love teenager like me would notice this, but it does make me wonder why adult authors put this emotion into their stories.  What do authors see that we as readers don't even realize we see?
     Deep down, in the caverns of everyone's hearts, we fear being alone.  We fear never being cared for like we were for nine months in the womb.  For those nine months we hadn't a worry or care, and then we came into reality and realized that a mother's love is he strongest emotion.  Then we grew up and realized that our family and friends can love us all they want but it won't compare to the butterflies we get in our stomach when that special someone is around.  We know that without love our lives would be pointless.  That is why every story needs love; every story needs to have a purpose.
     Perhaps we cling to the romance in stories because through reading we can take certain liberties-- like omitting the flaws of a handsome prince to make the perfect man, which we know does not exist.  Jonathan Gottschall wrote in The Storytelling Animal that an author sketches the scene but we fill in the details-- we can decide how tall our true lo-- I mean, the character, is and how brave he is and if he, too, is tired of hearing Bruno Mars' "Treasure".  We live vicariously through the damsel in distress because we'd like to hope that in reality we'd have enough sense not to prick our finger on a spinning wheel, so we drift off to dreamland and let the Knight in Shinning Armor carry us off into the sunset.
     Love in stories gives us the missing piece to our lives: why do you think so many housewives flocked to bookstores to get the latest romance novel?  Fabio. And all of the adventures he and Mrs.Typical-Housewife could go on in between doing the dishes and vacuuming.
     Romance, and other forms of love, keep us motivated throughout our daily lives.  An author writes to connect with the reader and inspire him or her, so its only natural that a good story would include the most necessary of all the emotions: Love.