The Universe is made up of light, dust, rocks and a lot of empty space. This cosmic stuff is able to express itself in ‘light years‘ of available free space. Stars write their twinkling Morse code, planets circle and dance around their suns, comets do their sorties – there is so much free space for self-expression and creativity. Yet in our lives, we are cramped for room. Too many things on our to-do list, too many banal things to take care of, too many noises encroaching upon the silent gaps and moments of solitude. Screens are glaring back at us, shouting back – so are machines and car honks. There are incessant demands and the chatter never dies. How often do we crave quiet moments in the day – moments when even we do not place any demands on ourselves?
When we envisioned ‘The Space’, we wanted the sacred inner space of every human being extended outward, replicated in this warm corner where one could enjoy one’s own company and expand horizons. These moments of respite are like butterflies, fleeting and unwilling to stay too long and if we begin to chase them down, we end up running and the whole purpose of a calm time period with self is defeated!
However, these moments are magical doorways that lead to interesting corridors within us. The key to unlocking the door is ‘writing’. As soon as I mention the word, noses twitch, eyebrows go up, muscles become tense – the whole energy field shifts. A mysterious defence mechanism comes to the fore and takes charge. “Oh! I can’t write”, starts to play in our heads like a repeated affirmation of denial.
I am not surprised when your first reaction is this. I am not surprised when your later reaction will be, “I can’t stop writing” or “I didn’t know I could write fiction” or “I can’t stop filling pages upon pages”.
How does this metamorphosis take place? Well, it is not a well-kept secret. It gets told in session after session of the ‘Writing for the Soul’ program. “It is a wonder drug for the soul”, some say. The best bit is you define the course of action you set, you administer the dose of writing medication and you do the diagnosis and you write the final report.
If all this reads like a riddle, step in and experience it for yourself. Our soul-scribes have been re-discovering themselves and their creative potentials have set them free to soar in a sky they themselves construct.
Personally the journey to becoming a poet, writer, radio show host, author and facilitator for ‘Writing for the Soul’ has been a journey of finding myself, one word at a time.
Life throws many curve balls at us all the time and the written word is a great mentor, a spirit guide, a light beam for travel through unknown terrain. It is a beacon of immense wisdom. The undeniable force that your written word carries, the potential life-juice it holds, the nectar it is for your reader is inestimable and the healing you harvest is a personal triumph that you can’t share with anyone or quantify in any way.
To write is to bring about a personal revolution and since this severely lonely and Herculean task needs all the encouragement, support and validation, Simran and I hope to continue extending that scaffolding while your words lean against it as you gingerly erect a masterpiece, letter by letter. Come in and allow a reluctant ‘pen chant’ to turn into a penchant for writing.