why we write

We write to normalize ourselves.  To hold up the fabric of our lives to others to see if we're normal, okay, or good enough.  We long for that acceptance. To be assured that we are enough.  We need that understanding, or that nod to our suffering.  We are desperate to know that there is more to come, fuller experience, greater love. Writing allows us to put it out there-to lay bare that which often needs to be said, and yet can't stand under the sound of the voice.  It sits, stays, gives us the chance to look again; absorb, and understand more deeply than we can through words just spoken into silence.

When I write, there is a flow of emotion and thought that doesn't usually get hammered out properly in my head.  There is some obstacle in thought alone, and the discipline of writing allows the thought process to work its way out straight, giving me a glimpse at where i am emotionally and spiritually.  I learn about myself. i see things more clearly and am often surprised at what i discover.