As many of my readers probably know, my passion for writing was inspired by the tragic story of Cecil the Lion.  Frankly, Cecil was a wake-up call for me, as if I had been in a Rip Van Winkle-type unconsciousness and was suddenly thrust on the floor and awoken abruptly to reality.

And although I had some vague understanding of what was going on in the real world, I was rather oblivious to the level that this was occurring.  And I don’t limit that to the controversial practice of trophy hunting and so-called conservation.   I mean oblivious to so many questionable practices in general.  It’s as if someone left the moral compass at home and we are now all wandering through the woods, completely lost, with no idea how to follow the path of true north.  It’s as if we evolved to a certain level, then just stopped growing; and no longer having no ability to transcend to a greater level of consciousness.

Now, let me slightly correct that statement slightly.  As I entire my fifth decade on this planet, I’ve been around enough to know there is a lot of bad out there.  I’m not naive by any stretch of the imagination.  But, I must admit that Cecil has awoken my animal spirit and has become a driving force in my desire to write.

Initially, writing Cecil’s story was simply therapeutic.  And although I would not say it was entirely driven by a selfish need, my first piece – “An Agent of Change” was written primarily to release my own anger.  I was angered that this happened, angered that this type activity actually existed, and frustrated that there was nothing I could really do.

But then, something odd occurred.  People actually liked what I wrote.  I received positive feedback such as “this is the best piece I’ve seen written on this subject”; and this encouraged me to write more.

So, three weeks ago, I set up this blog site and aptly called it Libra Lionheart.  I wanted a catchy name, something that captured the essence of the stories I wanted to tell.  Lionheart seemed to be a perfect word, as it gave me an opportunity to pay tribute to Cecil for lighting this fire.  At the same time,  is there a better word in the English language than lionheart – “a person of exceptional courage and bravery”?  And Libra simply represented my zodiac sign.  Technically, I’m on the cusp, so I am one of those lucky people who get to choose their zodiac sign.  However, Virgo Braveheart would make a great for an actor, but as blog site, not so much.

All this said, little did I know that in three short weeks, 400+ people would think highly enough of my blog posts and articles to actually follow me.  So let me first say that I am humbled and honored and flattered to receive such high praise.  However, this also suggests to me that perhaps I need to increase my activity level on my site.

My original intention was to publish thought-provoking and well-researched opinion and knowledge pieces…and of course, that will not change.  I still desire to do that.  However, the reality is that these research pieces take time to write.  So all this said, I am now committed to greater activity, and will inject some shorter pieces or knowledge and informational pieces that hopefully will be beneficial as well as entertaining.

So, thank you again to all those following my posts, and thank you for your encouragement.  And thank you for correcting my original belief that there was nothing I could do about Cecil or other travesties in life.  I remind myself daily of the Edmund Burke quote ” Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”