I am under compulsion and have no choice. I Corinthians 9:16
I finished writing this column around midnight on July 25, 2015. That’s almost 11 months in advance of its publication. To be honest, doesn’t that sound a bit pathetic and more than obsessive compulsive?
To write that far in advance, even after writing weekly for 13 years straight, is beginning to worry me a bit. I enjoy writing so much that I can’t stop myself from writing.
For me, writing is not only an enjoyable hobby, it just may be bordering on an addiction. A bit worried, I surfed the net and came across several sites that deal with the possibility of such a reality as a “writing addiction.” Maybe it’s time to see if there are any “writers anonymous” meetings in this area?
I write for my own good. Writing, for me, is really about thinking out loud, externalizing the thoughts rolling around in my head and regurgitating my undigested insights onto a computer screen so that I can take a good hard look at what I have been thinking about. As Flannery O’Connor said, “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”
I write for the good of others. I love taking a half-baked idea and “cooking” it till it is “delicious on the tongue” of another reader or taking a rough stone of an insight and putting it in the gem polisher until it sparkles in the eye of another beholder.
I absolutely relish hearing that someone has come to an “ah ha” moment because of something I wrote. Nothing makes me happier than to hear that someone has saved something I wrote in order to enjoy it again later or to share it with a special someone in another town.
If you are one of those people who find it hard to pray or meditate, to focus or concentrate, to remember details or to fully explore an idea, writing may be for you. All you need is a pen, a sturdy journal, a quiet place, a block of time, a good mood and a willingness to give it your best effort.
Whether you share it with others is not something you need to be concerned about when you start. Publishing is easy these days, but very few people ever make any real money at it, so don’t worry about such things in the beginning.
The point of writing is for you to see what you are thinking by reading what you say. It’s about you getting to know you, the real you, the you that is hidden from your own eyes.
In time, you will know whether you want to take the risk of finding out if what you have to say can benefit others. For now, write your prayers, collect you memories and explore your dreams for your own good and for your own personal growth. You too may find it addictive.
To read more from Father Knott, visit his blog: FatherKnott.com.
