I have, and more than occasionally, been asked to digest this common tidbit of career advice: “do what you love.” Common conjecture supposes that if we choose to do that which we love in making a livelihood, then we would be more apt to attain lasting happiness, be healthier, wealthier, more content, and eventually reap the rewards of a fulfilled life. Proven true to theory by study after study, this is unquestionably, excellent advice…advice only a fool or inept individual would fail to heed. I think it safe to assume that everyone desires to live a healthy life, filled with financial freedom and accented by complete success of all they dare venture.
Fact is: I am doing one of the things I do and just for the love of doing it…right now; and that is writing. A goodly number of us, consider the act of putting words together truly artful, while others claim it is natural, and some even insist that writers are gifted-being inspired by who knows what. Regardless as to the origin and no matter how they come out, words are one of the most effective ways of communicating and when written they are indubitable the finest method available for disclosing whatever it is you have desire to share. The thing is, I don’t make a living at it, in fact I don’t get paid at all; and it certainly doesn’t contribute to my physical health for it forces me to stay for a time too long at this temperamental computer…in one somewhat unflattering position too (that’s the sitting position–which accentuates my aging midsection and widening bottom). In terms of mental health however, it is most often a plus for when I learn that someone has put a special meaning to my words…more than being ingratiated, I am thrilled.
As a child, before attaining school age even, I would sit on Mom’s lap and drift away into the land of imagination, envisioning each tale as she read. In looking back I can honestly say, “Mom was my very first reading and writing teacher”. Perhaps she, was the reason I fell in love with words. Every single word in any particular story has it’s own meaning, and that meaning changes with each reader’s interpretation. Awesome when you think about it! A single tale or point of view, once written, becomes a thousand times a thousand stories and creates a multitude of opinions. Words have the power to enhance emotion, exhilarate a debate, suggest a situation, define a circumstance, and create dominant images for our minds to contemplate. Good writing combines them all in the same instant.
It is said: “A picture says more than a thousand words” and sure, pictures are a great and simplified way to express our feelings or mood…but it is words that are omnipresent in our lives. We think in words, we use words to name our feelings, people, places, and things that are dear to us. Ever since humans mastered the complex skills of thinking and speaking, we have done so by means of words.Through words we have means to share our inner most thoughts and dreams (something few, if any pictures are capable of doing because they mostly “suggest”) and I for one, believe that words do indeed have significant and mysterious power; and in fact, right now…My MIND is having lots of FUN; its’ the rest of me that gets frustrated.
