What's your theme?

Have you ever thought about your individual life theme (or themes, since there can be more than one)? I know this sounds funny, but I believe we all have themes in our lives. It might be personal passions (politics, writing, career choices, etc.), or it might be emotional patterns (nuturing, suffering, always down, enjoying life to the max, etc.) But we have themes. What about the person for whom nothing ever goes right? Or someone who's always in the middle of a major life drama? Or someone who's very religious? Someone who always picks the wrong partners? Musical? Political? Into arts and crafts or decorating? We're usually not aware of these "themes" that run through our lives, but they're relected in how we live, and in turn, we are a reflection of them.

Most authors also have themes in their writing, and it's usually a spillover from their personal lives. Again, we may not be aware of our themes. I'm generally not until either I re-read my work, or someone points it out. After I wrote Shielder, my first published book, one of my critique partners, Linda Castillo, said to me, "Cathy, you wrote about the Halocaust!" I was surprised, because I hadn't consciously tried to do that. But when I looked back at the story (a race of people being sysematically destroyed by another race), added that to my Jewish heritage, I had to conclude that was indeed what I had done.

Another one of my themes is spirituality and the meaning of life. I've been interested in metaphysical topics since I was eleven, and read all sorts of books on Edgar Cayce, our purpose on Earth, astrology, Tarot, etc. Sure enough, that overflows into my books, especially my latest projects--the Sentinel series (based on Atlantis and reincarnation) and my novella, Street Corners and Halos (about a Jewish girl who "dies" in the Halocaust, and is turned into a vampire by an SS soldier). Hmmm. Very interesting.

I believe that understanding the themes running through our lives can help us to lead richer lives, by further tapping into them (if they're positive themes); or conversely, help us to make our lives better, by understanding the negative themes, and working to turn them around, or "re-write" those themes.

Good or bad, uplifting or degrading, consciously or subconsciously, these themes run through our lives, shaping us, making us who we are.

So, what's your theme?

Happy reading,

~ Catherine