Writing tames thoughts.
Writing is how I think. Most of the conversations I am having with myself are not thinking. These vocalizations are like the weather, coming and going without my control, here one minute gone the next. The mind weather from last month is nowhere to be found right now.
But writing tames thoughts, making them concrete, tangible, connected with reality. Writing is thinking. Niklas Luhmann, the German Sociologist and developer of the Zettelkasten Method, said, "without writing, there is no thinking." [^2] Author Joan Didion said, "I don't know what I think till I write it down."
Thinking is nothing if it is not externalized through writing. Writing has to be externalized, brought forth in the world, actualized, make real. Keeping ideas and thinking in one's head is a recipe for disaster. Your ideas compete with our monkey mind and all the mental noise that is going on in our heads. This gets mixed with all the unrealized mind chatter. Authentic thinking that makes a difference to the world doesn't stand a chance.
Writing turns your mind inside out. It's a way to meet yourself coming back in the other direction with recognition and compassion. It reminds you that you're not alone. And this is what readers want from you. [^1]
This post is meant to help us renew our commitment to caring for the world and remind our future selves to be fractionally better than before. This post points to where I want to work on my mental fitness and 'adulting.'. It is a reminder to operate in the world with love and compassion and includes tips put together in moments of clarity to help when caught up in the world's uncontrollable chaos. Please, continue the conversation anytime: will@kestrelcreek.com.
References
[^1]: Davidson, Jessica. Free Your Pen: Mind Training for Writers (59 Slogans to Cure Writer's Block & Free Your Voice) (p. 155). JesDharma Books.
[^2]: Fabrication of Serendipity
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31/31 Challenge
- Dec 31, 2020 Imitating Superman Dec 31, 2020
- Dec 30, 2020 What Would You Tell Your Twenty-Something Self Dec 30, 2020
- Dec 29, 2020 Lucky Dec 29, 2020
- Dec 28, 2020 See looks beautiful Dec 28, 2020
- Dec 27, 2020 Kinship Dec 27, 2020
- Dec 26, 2020 The big round dog bed Dec 26, 2020
- Dec 25, 2020 Smiling Meditation Dec 25, 2020
- Dec 24, 2020 A Smiling Experiment Dec 24, 2020
- Dec 23, 2020 Walk Time! Smell Time! Dec 23, 2020
- Dec 22, 2020 Ask yourself these questions. Dec 22, 2020
- Dec 21, 2020 We short change our own lives through inattention Dec 21, 2020
- Dec 20, 2020 When death comes Dec 20, 2020
- Dec 19, 2020 More noticing Dec 19, 2020
- Dec 18, 2020 Nurture Noticing Dec 18, 2020
- Dec 17, 2020 Inexplicable Depth Dec 17, 2020
- Dec 16, 2020 Walking is thinking Dec 16, 2020
- Dec 15, 2020 Writing on thin air Dec 15, 2020
- Dec 14, 2020 Iterate through failure Dec 14, 2020
- Dec 13, 2020 Writing is the technology of thinking Dec 13, 2020
- Dec 12, 2020 Attentional Autonomy Dec 12, 2020
- Dec 11, 2020 A sence of place Dec 11, 2020
- Dec 10, 2020 Your smile spreads happiness Dec 10, 2020
- Dec 9, 2020 Hupomnemata/Zettelkasten Dec 9, 2020
- Dec 8, 2020 Quietude Dec 8, 2020
- Dec 7, 2020 Attention Strength Training Dec 7, 2020
- Dec 6, 2020 You are what you do Dec 6, 2020
- Dec 5, 2020 Tiny moments for gratitude expression Dec 5, 2020
- Dec 4, 2020 Life is but a dream Dec 4, 2020
- Dec 3, 2020 Falling in Love Dec 3, 2020
- Dec 2, 2020 To whom do I report the theft... Dec 2, 2020
- Dec 1, 2020 Getting Started Dec 1, 2020