My Favorite Thing about Writing

I might not be Julie Andrews from The Sound of Music with the 'voice' and spectacular way with children, but I do know a little something about my favorite thing about writing.

Have you ever been to a therapist and paid loads of money to have him/her listen to your problems and help you through them?

I have.

But there came a day when I discovered something else.

Writing.

Writing for me is not only about expressing myself, it's about healing. Through my characters I can express wants and needs, travel to wherever I choose without having to save up for it. I can lay down the law, open my heart, make some changes for myself even while I'm writing.

And it's like therapy.

Perhaps you write only to go through your own sort of therapy. Maybe you don't write for anyone but your children; your family. Maybe you write because you can't do anything but write. Yes, maybe you write to get published, but that's the icing on the cake isn't it?

The read stuff, the stuff you're writing every day will always be the best part, at least it will be for me. For while I love publishing and sharing what I have written with others, there is always that feeling of clarity as the words in my heart whisper through my fingers and come down--sometimes silently, sometimes loudly pounding as the words reach the keys on my keyboard.

Writing as Therapy

I love writing, but (smile) I have also needed therapy in my life. I'm not sure if there are any other writers out there who have had to visit a shrink, but I'd like to think that I'm not alone.

What I've learned from a few great (and not so great) therapists is that they may not have the answers either. They may give you direction, suggestions, they may even tell you what's not working in your life and what you can do to change your situation, but they can't do it for you.

Photo by Tony Hall, courtesy of Flickr

Therapists are expensive, too, When I went, therapy ran between $25 and $50 an hour; I'm sure, some 20 years later, it's spiked a bit higher. Though it cost me, for the most part, I gained from the experience. I learned more about myself and more about relating better to certain individuals in my life.

It was soon after the therapy experience that I learned the power of writing my feelings down. I realized that writing was just as powerful as speaking, and I would often find myself solving my own problems with a bit of reflection and an open heart to God.

Perhaps that's why I continue to keep a journal today. Even when it hurts, and especially when it hurts, I can get my feelings down on paper. Words written down never go away unless there's a flood or some other natural disaster; the words are there the next time I am struggling and I am reminded that this is what life is all about. Yes, it's about struggling, but it's also about overcoming and becoming better. And I read those too.

Some days writing is the only thing that keeps me going. And on other days, I am filled with knowledge and direction almost too powerful to write about.

But I do.