I will reframe this answer to the question of “why” I write to “if I didn’t write.”
If I didn’t write I wouldn’t know what I thought, what I believed, or who I am. I honestly don’t know how people discover those things about themselves without writing!
The author, Joan Didion, expressed how I feel about writing: "I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear."
We are fickle people and master con artists. At any moment in time, our thoughts and egos conspire to convince us that “THIS” is how we think … “THIS” is what we believe … and “THIS” is who we are. And, of course, that “THIS” changes from day-to-day, hour-to-hour, and minute-to-minute. It’s a fast train to constantly shifting destinations and we are hostages on it.
As a Buddhist, I have personally experienced how meditation can slow down the train, fix the destination, and free us from captivity. But there is another way to accomplish the same thing: writing.
I believe I innately understood that, even as a young child. I kept journals for as long as I could write (they were “diaries” when I was a child in the 1950s). I needed to write to express, but—more importantly—I needed to think the thoughts that led to the words. I needed to have words on paper, so that I could read them back and understand myself. This was how I got to know myself.
It is no different for me now. If I don’t slow down enough to identify my thoughts and feelings by writing them, they take control of me and gallop away, only to bolt to the next thought or emotion that I didn’t even know I was thinking or feeling—until, of course, the emotion got stronger and stronger, capturing my mind and my energy.
In Buddhism, we refer to that as grasping. And it’s the grasping that makes us unhappy. It’s the grasping that kidnaps us and makes us hostages on the runaway train of our relentless egos and jumpy monkey minds. You know the deal: someone mentions they just bought something … or they are going to start this class … or start eating this diet … or do that exercise. Then your grabby little mind says, “I want to do that, too!” But do you?
So, you try it and realize that it is definitely something you do not want to do. Hold on a second! If you had explored the option, pausing a few minutes to consider the follow-on activities and consequences of the thing your mind wanted, you would have known you didn’t want it before buying, trying, or doing.
That’s part of what meditation is about and that’s what writing is about, too. Most of us go through our days thinking, feeling, and doing without a conscious say in the matter. But it’s easy to fix and you don’t even have to meditate! Pick up a notebook or your laptop/tablet, start a journal, and write. You will be surprised at who you find there!
If I didn’t write I wouldn’t know what I thought, what I believed, or who I am. I honestly don’t know how people discover those things about themselves without writing!
The author, Joan Didion, expressed how I feel about writing: "I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear."
We are fickle people and master con artists. At any moment in time, our thoughts and egos conspire to convince us that “THIS” is how we think … “THIS” is what we believe … and “THIS” is who we are. And, of course, that “THIS” changes from day-to-day, hour-to-hour, and minute-to-minute. It’s a fast train to constantly shifting destinations and we are hostages on it.
As a Buddhist, I have personally experienced how meditation can slow down the train, fix the destination, and free us from captivity. But there is another way to accomplish the same thing: writing.
I believe I innately understood that, even as a young child. I kept journals for as long as I could write (they were “diaries” when I was a child in the 1950s). I needed to write to express, but—more importantly—I needed to think the thoughts that led to the words. I needed to have words on paper, so that I could read them back and understand myself. This was how I got to know myself.It is no different for me now. If I don’t slow down enough to identify my thoughts and feelings by writing them, they take control of me and gallop away, only to bolt to the next thought or emotion that I didn’t even know I was thinking or feeling—until, of course, the emotion got stronger and stronger, capturing my mind and my energy.
In Buddhism, we refer to that as grasping. And it’s the grasping that makes us unhappy. It’s the grasping that kidnaps us and makes us hostages on the runaway train of our relentless egos and jumpy monkey minds. You know the deal: someone mentions they just bought something … or they are going to start this class … or start eating this diet … or do that exercise. Then your grabby little mind says, “I want to do that, too!” But do you?
So, you try it and realize that it is definitely something you do not want to do. Hold on a second! If you had explored the option, pausing a few minutes to consider the follow-on activities and consequences of the thing your mind wanted, you would have known you didn’t want it before buying, trying, or doing.
That’s part of what meditation is about and that’s what writing is about, too. Most of us go through our days thinking, feeling, and doing without a conscious say in the matter. But it’s easy to fix and you don’t even have to meditate! Pick up a notebook or your laptop/tablet, start a journal, and write. You will be surprised at who you find there!
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Here are the next three people in the blog hop:
Rosa Elizabeth Vargas is a job search strategist, interview-winning executive resume writer, and branding specialists with four of the Career Industry’s Top Resume Writing Certifications. Rosa is a multiple TORI™ (Toast of the Resume Industry) award winner, nominated for Best Executive Resume and Best Creative Resume TORI nominations in 2010, with four nominations and three wins in 2011. You can read Rosa's blog at careersteering.com.
Fran Rossi Szpylczyn is a former corporate executive turned
Catholic lay minister and writer who lives near Albany, NY. She explores the
intersection of faith and everyday life at her blog, There Will Be Bread, but not
every day!
Cheryl
Kornegay is an EMT in NC. She is passionate about her job in healthcare
and loves having the opportunity to help others in the community.
Cheryl is the mother of a child with Adrenoleukodystrophy and was
recently diagnosed as a symptomatic carrier. In her spare time, she
writes sci-fi and adventure fiction, does yoga, and volunteers with her
family. Check out her blog, Gabriel's Journey at gabrielald.blogspot.com.
Rosa Elizabeth Vargas is a job search strategist, interview-winning executive resume writer, and branding specialists with four of the Career Industry’s Top Resume Writing Certifications. Rosa is a multiple TORI™ (Toast of the Resume Industry) award winner, nominated for Best Executive Resume and Best Creative Resume TORI nominations in 2010, with four nominations and three wins in 2011. You can read Rosa's blog at careersteering.com.
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