Privilege and The Craving

Happy Thanksgiving! May you have the blessing of being able to appreciate the good in your life and the world... for that is a privilege I wish for all.

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; mso-themecolor:hyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} --</style><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Privilege is a buzzword with a lot of weight behind it. According to the Oxford dictionaries, privilege is a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We think of skin color and money allowing us the biggest privileges. Many benefits can be boiled down into those two definers. (Not that there isn’t other ways one can gain/have privilege). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Craving</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> allowed me to explore the concept of privilege. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Riva Quinton is a product of the radiated rock of a planet called Feri. He grew up with the love of his parents and siblings in a harsh environment where life was short and death expectancy was certain. There was a lack of everything, especially knowledge. Riva fights extremely hard to overcome everything he doesn’t know, but sometimes he doesn’t know the questions he needs to ask. At times, he lacks the basic foundation in which to store the information he is absorbing from those around him. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is an excerpt demonstrating what he’s up against: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Eros rescued him. “Also around the same age. The procedure of the ruler assigning a soul mate is in name only. This goes back to when people believed the ruler had certain spiritual and god-like powers.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Wait! What? Riva had to state, “His Greatness does have god-like powers.” He stared at Eros, then Yoshio. They both frowned. “Um, doesn’t he?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Yoshio nodded. “Oh, on some planets his position is still revered as destined by the universe, but—”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Riva nodded but could no longer process what was coming out of his friend’s mouth. He’d studied the sacred texts that gave the ruler supreme power over all things. Hours a day were spent memorizing the chants of gratitude to honor the shining star of the Xantha star system. When he had sung the holy words, he didn’t stutter. Wasn’t that spiritual proof? “I… I don’t understand.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Riva stumbled over and stared out at the passing stars. How was all this not by divine order due to His Greatness? He collapsed into the softness of a chair. How could there not be some predestined order to the universe and meaning to all the suffering?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Eros rushed to his side and crawled into his lap. “That’s not to say there isn’t divinity, spirituality, afterworld, and a purpose for us all.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Yoshio plopped down next to him.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Silence.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 2.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Riva simply couldn’t process this information. “So most other planets don’t see the ruler as all-knowing and destined to rule?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">            Eros hugged him closer, giving him his answer.</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Riva is tired of people treating him like there’s something wrong because he’s always a step behind. He worked hard to build the framework to understand the incredible amount of information. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Writing his part of the story reminded me how difficult it can be to walk in someone else’s shoes if you have more privilege. How easy is it to judge someone harshly because we forget they may not have had the same advantages we’ve had. We assume people in our world have the same information, skills, and chances in life that we’ve had, but that may not be true. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thankfully, Riva has friends that don’t judge him for it and were willing to help him succeed. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X3VlyFMxay..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X3VlyFMxay..." width="217" /></a></div><br /> <div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">The Craving</span></i></b><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"> Blurb:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">The craving is an undeniable urge that drives K’Dane citizens to find their life mates—if only to sate their uncontrollable physical longings.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Thrilled at being named a Chosen, Phoenix Dotir leaves K’Dane to become an artist-monk who will create dimensional art capable of changing worlds. Living by the monastery’s Principles of Purity will surely help him overcome the craving. But he never accounted for star chaser Zadra Solav.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Zadra doesn’t believe in rules and makes his own future. Fate separates him from the man he loves, but one touch renders him helpless to his own desires. Bonding with a monk is forbidden, and Zadra’s family sends him to deep space to avoid disgrace. Unable to give up, Zadra must find a way reunite with his Chosen.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Tormented by enforced separation, Initiate Riva Quinton struggles with his vow of chastity and risks all to rescue his lover. Together with his Eros, he stows away on board a star craft to follow his heart.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Four men defy destiny and tradition for love… but their love is a crime punishable by death.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;">Buy Links:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span><a href="https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/boo... style="font-size: 18.0pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"><br /></span><a href="https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/boo... class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Hugs, Z  <span style="font-size: 18.0pt;"></span></div>