Start today.

The power of writing...........I think Anna Nalick wrote it well in her song, Breathe, when she said:

2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,
Threatening the life it belongs to
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud

The older I get, the more I see the value in having a release. And honestly, not just one...but different forms.  For me, I have many: exercise, talking to my friends, reading, praying and most recently- writing.   I've blogged about this before, but so often we try to go through life and figure things out by ourselves, all alone.  And the older I get I also am understanding how silly of a concept this can be- is it our pride that thinks that we who got ourselves into the messes we find ourselves in are the same ones who can find ourselves out? Maybe sometimes.  But I seriously think that more often than not, we cheat ourselves when we do it that way!

Part of the beauty of being human is the relationships and common experiences that we can share with each other and grow with each other through.  I thank GOD for my friends who when even if I think there's no way on Earth anyone can possibly understand me, can listen to me spill my heart out and say "I UNDERSTAND".  How much better those words can make us feel. Fellowship has a purpose.  Exercise let's us release the chemicals our bodies and minds need to properly function.  Reading let's us find refuge in someone else's words that so often seem as if they are our own, or offer a new perspective.  And writing....this one for me takes the most effort.  For me it serves several purposes.  It helps me to process my thoughts better than if they are left jumbled up in my head. And sometimes, it's my way to pray!  Sometimes I just can't find the words...or my mind is too distracted and I'll literally just go off on a completely irrelevant tangent and interrupt my prayer.  But when I write it down, it's like I'm writing to Him...and also openly sending a message to the one who is trying to bring me down. Yes, I realize that sounds extreme, but that's just how I believe it is.  When we get it all out, I think there is such an opportunity for healing. 

Please keep demonstrating the courage that it takes to swim upstream in a world that prefers putting away for retirement to putting pen to paper, that chooses practicality over poetry, that values you more for going to the gym than going to the deepest places in your soul...
And if, for whatever reason, you’ve stopped– stopped believing in your voice, stopped fighting to find the time–start today.

- Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines