Greetings! I have a few moments here while Sylvia is napping, and I should really be washing my windows. Or cleaning the bathroom. Or the litter boxes. Or the kitchen. And I definitely should be sweeping and mopping. But you know, I just don’t feel like it. I’m recently back from our weekend at Jack’s, and I now find myself in a bit of a funk. My children are being decidedly disobedient and often rather unpleasant (who taught them how to whine, anyway?). So after scanning job listings for a bit (adult co-workers don’t hit or throw things, do they?), I decided to just do a little writing.
Writing is cathartic for me, and I think that’s one of the main reasons that I’ve been as faithful to this little blog as I have. I write to help clear my mind. Sometimes, I write so I will remember what my babies were like. Sometimes I write to help myself unwind a knotty thought or state of mind. Sometimes I write because it makes me feel like an individual, a person (an adult!) all my own.
One of my new favorite blogs is by one of my favorite writers, Katrina Kenison. She wrote a post last month that I’ve been wanting to share. In her post, she starts out by talking about how she has been pretty skeptical about computers and the internet. She just recently, and a bit reluctantly, started her blog. She goes on…
…I found that the discipline of writing a blog, even one or two short pieces a week, has kept me in closer touch not just with my readers, but with myself. Like prayer, or yoga, or meditation, writing, too, is a practice. I sit down, turn on the computer, and say hello to the watching, reflecting part of me. And then I listen, and write down what that quiet inner voice has to say.
…
I think that, when it comes right down to it, most of us do write for ourselves, not for an audience. We write to remind ourselves of what’s important in our lives, to move beyond our petty cares and concerns and to get in touch with our true essence, our souls, the people we are in the process of becoming. And then, in gestures of faith and solidarity, we offer our gift, the gift of ourselves, to the world.
What a lovely way to think about writing. For those of my friends who don’t blog regularly, when I do see a post, I feel like it’s a gift. And I so enjoy having a few moments to listen to myself and to pour that out (in fits and starts!) to share with friends and family near and far. Thanks for reading!