"And we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain un-alienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." This is a famous excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. Every human was created equal, and each has the right to life. Life. Not in the pro-life sense but in the 'really truly alive' sense; the feeling of dropping into bed, weary and exhausted, after a hard day of labor. The satisfaction of food in a hungry stomach. The inexplicable beauty of the sunset, the clarity of the air after a rainstorm, the feel of being warm on a cold day, or cool on a hot day. Although global and personal circumstances are different, most people are born fully equipped with senses, which enable them to understand and experience wonderful things.
I am self-proclaimed and unashamedly a writer. It's what I do, it's what I love; I write to show people what they've always thought but never put words to. I write to release, to understand, to process. I write, so that people will read. Reading requires the temporary suspension of reality, as you either involve yourself in the story, or concentrate to understand information.
Every element of story requires this pause; as you watch a movie, or listen to the radio, or read a book, some part of your brain leaves the current reality to invest and engage with the content. Although some may be leery of it, it is wonderful. To wholly partake in the experience is like sweet relief from many pressures. Fiction is freedom, it is insight, it is story, but it is not everything. Even completely simplified, fiction is pulling from something about real life. There is nothing fictional that does not draw some aspect of itself from reality, and use ideas that are present in the real world.
Come back tomorrow to see why it matters.