A Writer Needs Courage

People who write have one thing in them. They are ready to face the world, whether in a good way or bad. They are ready to take criticism for what they write. Anyone who is afraid cannot be a writer.

One needs to become responsible for what one writes. Just because one has courage and is unafraid, doesn't mean that the writer can write whatever she wants. Because the written word is so powerful, because people take it seriously, the writer has to be careful about things she expresses.

Writing for the public is not a personal diary, where one can spill out whatever is on her mind. The public needs to be spared the chaos in an individuals' mind. Otherwise, that chaos would spill into the public arena, which would cause more confusion.

Since the written page is taken so seriously by readers, it comes with a lot of responsibility to the writer. It is a record for posterity, and everything isn't grist for the mill in a future world. Now, with the media explosion because of the internet and social media, people's attention spans have shortened. The writer needs to keep that in mind.

With so much information floating around, in the future, when it would be time for the society to look back, it would be selective, and look at the useful, what would be useful to itself, and discard those that are of no importance.

The Writer in Me: The Mind Body Connection

I grew up as a child spending lot of time with books. What outcome could you expect in such a scenario? Someone who wants to write. And hence my life is now long years of reading, writing, and more writing. And the best place to visit all time has been the library wherever I lived.

It isn't surprising, is it? My earliest clear memory is of going to the District Library in Jorhat, a small town in Assam, India, where I spent most of my school years. That was the formative period of my life.

For some reason, I wasn't much into games and sports. I wasn't a weak girl. Somehow, that aspect of life never interested me. Later, after passing out from school, I became a yoga enthusiast. and right now, I regularly go to the gym and walk in the park, also bike sometimes. Haven't reached the half-marathon level. But this isn't that bad. It isn't about all head and body care. I do try to live a holistic life, taking care of my physical as well mental well being.

One thing I've learnt over the years is that, one cannot live just the way one likes, especially when it comes to the body, mind and spirit. Eating and drinking anything, at any time, or inputting anything into the mind, sleeping at any hour, no control in life... One cannot abuse any part of it. There is a clear connection between all these aspects.

Life continues because of balance. It's so important to take care of the body if one wants to use the mind. Writing is nothing else but using the mind to produce words from ideas. Dynamic ideas are born in an active energetic body. Just like an oiled machine works efficiently, similarly, a well maintained body (not just aesthetically, it's about health) works better than when it hasn't been cared for.

Health is wealth. I don't know who said this or from where it has come. The older I am getting, I realize the significance of good health more seriously. Everything in life is connected to health. As long as one is alive, health affects that person. It could be good health or bad health. When we talk of bad health, it brings up the image of a sick person, who cannot walk straight and tall, or someone in a hospital bed with pipes everywhere, or coughing an eyes watering.

These are just a few images that I get when I talk about bad health. a person who is in bad health is not in normal condition, is unable to perform optimally, and is a drag to herself and others surrounding her. The opposite scenario applies to a healthy person. She is full of energy and can apply herself to the task at hand with full focus.

Not that good health guarantees the best writing. Many other attributes also go into making a great writer, like life experiences, perception and empathy, power of observation, ability to interpret incidents in a writerly way, etc. etc.

But a writer in good health, and with better than average abilities is a boon to everyone. A society needs writers who write well.