Why Write?

Write, not for anyone else, but because if you don't you might explode.

I wish I could remember who said those words, but like so many things I see on Facebook I just brushed over it without really giving it much thought at the time.

But I read those words over a month ago and they have stuck with me.  I don't consider myself to be a writer.  I am definitely not the best speller and to be honest with you it still stumps me at times when to use a comma or when I should just start another sentence.  I am still not sure the proper time to use a semicolon and whether a period comes before or after a quotation mark at the end of a sentence.  And to be totally honest with you, I really don't care.  Those are the types of details that I will leave to someone else should I ever decide to publish a book.  For my purpose I am about conveying a message, not getting a literary award for the best use of punctuation.

But that isn't what I want to talk about today.  I want to talk to you and myself (actually mainly myself) about following through on the things you know you should do.  For example, I have known for weeks now that I needed to write.  However it took getting to the verge of exploding to force me to do it.  I wasn't about to literally explode, but mentally and emotionally there was about to be big a mess to clean up.  Why, you ask.  No reason in particular, just life.

You see, I am a fairly reserved, introverted person.  I don't tend to share my feelings.  Feelings to me are  just something else you manage.  Managing, that is something that I am pretty good at doing. Sharing my feelings - not so much.  I am more of a get over it kind of guy.  Feelings come, feelings go. At the end of the day, its not how you felt that matters, but what you did that counts.  At least it is for me.  If you are in touch with your feelings and you enjoy that then I say Congratulations.

For me, and I suspect there are others out there like me, I have no desire to sit around and hold hands while sharing my deepest, darkest feelings.  I have found however that writing gives me the opportunity to share without sharing.  I know that may not make sense to some of you, but in essence when I write I am talking without having to talk to anyone. For an introvert, that is what you call a win-win.

The strange thing is that generally when I take the time to write, it is in a blog that I turn around and publish and let everyone read.  I know, really doesn't make much sense now that I write it out.  But then again it does.

I figure there are others like me that keep things bottled up and are looking or that opportunity to release.  There are all kinds of destructive ways that the world uses to release pressure.  Most involve unhealthy, addictive habits that I would prefer not to participate in.  But writing, it gives you the opportunity to get your thoughts out from between you ears and organize them on paper.  It allows to you to say what needs to be said without actually having to say it.  For me personally, I can hash out my thoughts and separate the valid thoughts from the whining thoughts, and can more easily get over myself.

While I do blog from time to time, I don't share everything I write.  There are far more posts on this site that are unpublished and will never see the light of day than there are posts that I allow others to read. But one thing I have learned, you never know what may be worth reading if you don't take the time to write it down.

Write, not for anyone else, but because if you don't you might explode.