The power of writing

BY TARA MYSHRALL

Today I was flipping through the pages of my leather-bound notebook that an old friend from grade school shipped me. This book was not a journal, it was not a workbook, it was my writing book. As my fingers passed through the edges of the pages, I couldn’t believe how much I’ve written in it since March when COVID-19 impacted all of our lives.

But wait! I don’t write. Who has time for that, and don’t I suck at it anyway? I am compelled to change those outdated ways of thinking where we find every reason why we can’t or shouldn’t instead of just jumping in and doing it. What would happen if I just permitted myself to just write? This got me thinking about why do people write. How does writing serve us? What are the benefits of writing?

One of the most obvious answers is that writing can be used for storytelling, to share and pass healing and knowledge down through the ages. Writing can connect us to others and defy time and space. Reading another’s story can dissolve isolation and help us realize we are not alone. It can help us diversify our perspectives and become a safe place to explore our true authentic thoughts. We write to connect, to learn, to teach, to grow. This connection can teach us that we are more alike than different, we can share our common stories, emotions, and feelings that even our differences can lead to important lessons.

Writing can be used as a therapeutic solution for many, using the crisp pages of a book with the velvet glide of the pen to pour out our emotions and thoughts to the page, like a flowing ocean, always changing. Writing can also bring you to a more diverse perspective of yourself and others, allowing your duality to bubble up to the surface and overflow. It can be a safe outlet to express your feelings and emotions, your rage, passion, gratitude, and excitement for life. Some things are too personal to say out loud, but writing allows those thoughts to flow out of you, releasing their intensity and transmitting their power.

So why do I write …. I write because for so long I told myself I was a terrible writer. I write because I’ve always wanted to share my story in the hopes that it might help someone else. I write because I’m releasing the idea that my writing is unworthy and I’m bringing it to the world openly and fearlessly.

I write because I’m compelled to change. To change my own limiting beliefs and change the constructs that I’ve created in my head about myself. I write to connect with myself. When I was young, I used to love to write. I thought I’d be an author when I grew up. Somewhere along the way, I convinced myself that I was a poor writer because my grammar and my spelling were atrocious. Those limiting beliefs stayed with me over the years and I abandoned journaling, writing poetry, all of it. I write to prove to myself that I can do it.

What would you write? What do you have to express? How could you use writing to improve your life? Whether it is doing morning pages to clear your thoughts each day, or writing down three things you are grateful for, don’t underestimate the power of writing self-expression to contribute to your overall wellbeing and happiness. I encourage you to write. Write a love note, write a joke, write something that you noticed or the feeling that you can’t put your finger on. Write something, each day. And watch how your life changes.