Why Writing is So Important

Sometimes when I begin to write, I have no idea what I'm going to write about.  All I know is that there is a huge mass lodged somewhere between my throat and my heart that needs to be digested somehow.  The only way I can find to do that is to disassemble it piece by piece through writing/typing word after word until I finally understand what the mass was made of.  By that point, it no longer plagues me.  That's why writing is so important to me.  

We live in an America that can be very self-centered and entertainment-oriented.  In religious and service circles, the reaction to that is admonition to do the opposite: focus on others and serve others.  And I believe in those principles.  When every move we make is all about our needs and entertaining ourselves, life quickly grows miserable and pointless.  Balance, though, is always the name of the game.  We must care for ourselves so that we can care for others.  Never caring for what makes you healthy (physically, mentally & spiritually) leads to destruction and breakdown in your effectiveness and accuracy in serving others.  For me, writing is a beautiful tool that feeds the self while usually accomplishing other things simultaneously.  Side effects from writing regularly (letters, journal, essays, art in any literary form) can be self-awareness - Are you really who you think you are? Deeper honesty with yourself or those you write to, strengthening the health of your brain in the creative process.  Some even get paid for writing!

I know that everyone is always busy.  I am too.  And I hate that, by the way.  But if there was one thing I would encourage you to do - one thing I believe could light the fire that could change everything - that would be developing the practice of writing.  You will not regret it.

:)