Am I any good, and should I even care?
Being a writer is like standing naked in the street and shouting 'here I am'.
Writing puts me together and makes me whole.
I've always loved reading. There's something special about picking up a book and experiencing the world through another. Whether the content be fact or fiction, the author divulges a persona over pages and pages of work, laying bear their subconscious for us the readers' to experience. There is something vulnerable in that, something revealing, yet somehow still guarded. Because when we read an author's work, we can never truly know them. Rather we see them in a time in space, or through a created persona that has manifested through the way the author sees and interprets the world around them. Yet somehow when we read, we still presume to think we know at least a little bit about who that writer might be. Nonetheless, we learn something new, either about ourselves or someone else, and the experience, if you let it, is transformative.
Perhaps through the romanticism of reading I have similarly fallen in love with the romanticism of writing. For all the reasons I love to read are exactly the reasons I love to write. From my earliest memories I've always cherished writing. Writing allows me to express myself, understand myself, travel through the creation of new worlds and characters. But there is still this part of me that questions if I am ready to stand in the street naked. I was recently asked the rhetorical question of what a writer is and if I consider myself to be one. I pondered on this question perhaps a little too long and found myself instead questioning why I write. Naturally and organically, I came up with this:
Writing, for me, is like Yoga: a gentle exercise that connects my mind, body, and spirit.
Each sentence stretching my mind beyond the now, delivering a memory, a moment or an idea.
Each word as if drawn effortlessly, much like breathing, connecting me to my life.
Writing grounds me. In fact, at times, writing finds me. It seeks me out from the depths of my soul, calling to me to create.
Sometimes I don't even know who I am or how I'm feeling until the writing begins. Then, through writing, I find myself and I can be free to be me, because writing puts me together and makes me whole.
Writing heals me, strengthens me, connects me to me. I release all the burdens of life, pouring them out onto a page. Those burdens are then right there in front of me, where I can see and feel them. I can reflect instead of deflect.
Writing helps me grow, as if each word and sentence is like shedding old skin, only from the inside. The outside remains the same, but on the inside I'm changed, different, lighter. Maybe not even changed for the better or for the worse, just changed.
I wouldn't really know me if I didn't write. I'd be an empty shell trying to pack away all that is me, dragging myself around with a painted face and a heavy soul bursting to be free; burdened by the truth instead of empowered by it.
This is why I write: to seek my truth. Each day my truth is different, because each day I'm different. I'm different because I learned from myself- from my writing- yesterday. I'm always the same on the outside, but if you look closely, if you stick around long enough you'll see that my soul has evolved.
I'd love to hear from you, so join me in the forum. Do you like to write? Why do you write? Have you considered becoming a writer and if so, what's stopping you? Maybe you are a successful writer, and if you are, what do you struggle with?
Continue to Write, Read, Talk, and Live. #writereadtalklive #writerslife #writinglife
Leah x
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