Writing for One

Writing is an intensely beneficial activity (he tells himself after 6 months of writing silence drowning in waves of his own hypocrisy). We do a lot of talking about how beneficial writing and creative expression can be - then go on to spend a lot more time scrolling through social media or watching youtube, falling through the same reiterated message instead of stopping and committing the time to starting.

why does this general reluctance to write persist? m
more importantly; how do we move past it?

1. it doesn’t have to be for show.

It’s entirely between you and yourself. Journalling isn’t for other people. You are not writing to win awards. All you are doing is transferring whatever is going on in your mind to the paper before you.
You don’t need to show anyone. You don’t need to spell every word correctly. It doesn’t need to be need, tidy, presentable or even remotely aesthetic. Use short hand. Voice record it. Just speak it all out loud in the car.
It’s not the end product that’s of worth, it’s your mind going through the process that matters.
Journalling just provides a safe space for the brain to assess its own thoughts in a manner that is consciously accessible.

2. let it be honest.

You don’t have to hide anything when you’re writing. Sometimes it’s what is entirely necessary to prompt a conversation with yourself that flows back and forth in a model of honesty difficult to replicate in your head. Writing is what we put into it. Allow your motivations to be honest, and allow them to show.
If motivation is your problem - reach out, find a friend who might want to join you.
There’s no real fear in asking and a lot of strength in doing. Never underestimate the positive impact you doing something uncomfortable can have on those around you.

3. it’s entirely normal

Keeping a journal was once such a normalised activity. Throughout the 19th century gentlemen and ladies would maintain a well kept and consistent account of their feelings and activities. For many they considered it an art and source of pride (even if they didn’t allow any to read).
You can find copies of letters or diaries from a variety of historical time periods. They are such a candid shot into the minds of people living hundreds of years ago and yet sharing such familiar patterns of thought and reactions to life. It’s entirely humbling and a beautiful way to access history.
Furthermore; everyone has feelings. As odd as it is to hear, the issues rattling around your skull are shared by folk around you. This doesn’t make them any less important or even less unique - but gives us hope that whatever difficulty we are going through has been faced before, and probably solved.

4. Personally Beneficial

We are all aware of the benefits of being emotionally open. I don’t think I need to re-communicate that here. What is important to acknowledge is that being emotionally difficult can be f***ing hard.
I know personally that difficulty grows with the prospect of having to share with others.
Writing though, real deep, gritty emotional writing is a raw but effective way of getting those emotions down first. Even as a way of recognising feelings we weren’t even aware of to begin with.
As we mentioned before - you needn’t keep it; throw it away, burn it, blow it up for all I care - but anything that can help us understand and communicate how we are feeling is valuable. That shouldn’t be forgotten.

epilogue

It’s been quite some time since I’ve shared anything in this space. That’s not from lack of care. I think I was just sitting in a space where I wasn’t entirely sure what to share. Where worries and concerns about how things might have been received somehow stood a touch taller than we’d like.
As we are in the midst of an international pandemic I’m sure the words; take care, stay safe and be well, have a particular cliche attached to them now - despite that, they’ve never been more important.
Truly take deep time to look after yourself right now. We are all going through difficulty on some level. Let’s navigate it with heart and mind and together, as a strong and resilient people.

much love,
L.