Friday, July 15, 2011

Seeds in the Wind

Some people think I am a deep thinker. I am really just a very ordinary guy with no impressive credentials. Most of the time I feel like my brain is barely able to maintain basic life support systems for my body. Rather than think of myself as a deep thinker I like to think of myself as a wide thinker. My mind is like a landscape that has no fences. I like to daydream and let my mind wander wherever it wants to go. Sometimes I am able to capture the journey in writing. When the wandering of my mind connects with time to actually write it down I am energized, passionate, and in a state some psychologists refer to as "flow". When it all comes together my typing can’t keep up with my thinking. Many other times, however, I stare at a blank screen, my mind is empty, and I don't know what to say. Eventually I will get something down but it will be a struggle. Much to my surprise and amazement what comes out of the emptiness is considered by some people as my best stuff. I will get emails from people asking me if I am reading their minds or telling me that what I wrote seems to be written specifically for them. Of course, none of this is true. I believe that many who write in the same vein as me simply have tapped into a larger consciousness and somehow put into words what many other people also think. Other times, when I think I have written something good, it will get no reaction at all. I guess anyone who writes must first write for themselves with no expectation of reward or even notice. Still, I hope for something good to happen as a result of my attempts to put into words the experience of my very ordinary life. I attempt to write something everyday as a discipline, I put it out into the universe and I hope the seeds I throw into the wind find fertile ground somewhere and maybe, just maybe, I have written words that someone needs to hear or words that give someone comfort. Whenever you express yourself, whatever the medium, you take a risk. Some may praise you and compliment you, others will ignore you, one or two may challenge you, and a few may tell you that you are full of BS. It’s worth the risk. Whatever is inside you will find its way out one way or another. Any expression of who you are is part of the creative process of life.

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