Have you ever asked yourself why you write? Why, as a child, you waded through diary after diary?
I write because:
- It makes me happy
- The inspiration has to go somewhere. Why not words on paper?
- It's who I am. Michele = Writer. Writer=Michele.
- I can't NOT write.
- It calms me.
- It fulfills me.
- It validates my life.
- It's my calling.
- It's my passion.
- My stories inspire and encourage others.
- I want to help people find hope as the storms of life rage in their lives.
- I LOVE to write.
- It's healing for me.
- It's healing for others to read where I've come from.
- It's what I was born to do.
For me, it's always been a compulsion. When I'm mad, I need to write. If I get upset I need to write. I find even when my nerves are fried to a crisp, I need to write.
After releasing that tension through words, I feel calmer, better somehow. It's like medicine for me. Whether I'm celebrating making a sale or breaking into a new market, I find inspiration for yet another poem or article.
I can't imagine a life where I couldn't write, didn't have access to paper and pen or heaven forbid, a computer with high speed internet!
Who needs a therapist when you could write? Okay, perhaps writing wouldn't exactly help in many cases where a professional therapist was needed. But for me, writing keeps me levelheaded. It's my "calm in the raging storms of life", especially when I write in the still of the night. It keeps me focused.
Say you're angry with your spouse or best friend. Write about it. Grab a notebook and plop down in a comfy chair and get it all out. Not only will you feel better, but you'll be healthier for getting those pent up frustrations out. Holding them in could possibly cause blood pressure problems--or worse.
You may even find as you read what you've written, that it was silly to get angry in the first place. And that now that you're in a better state of mind, it's easier to confront that person and apologize, or try to resolve the issue in an adult manner.
Sometimes at night, it's hard for me to fall asleep. I'm thinking, "I could add such and such to that article I've been working on." Or I think of a jazzy title I can't allow myself to forget so I'm scrambling around in the dark, stubbing my poor toe, and knocking off the lamp from my dresser.
There are times I just have to go ahead and turn the light on and turn my computer back on and let all those burning words out of my system. It's like an inferno deep in my soul, fighting to escape!
So, why is it that you write? Ask yourself. You may come up with a few crazy answers of your own and you may even be inspired to write something new as you travel the cyber highway!
