December 19, 2010

Thoughts on [not] Writing

Public writing is frightening. There is an inherent honesty that underlies each sentence that conveys not only a thought, but also the thinker behind those thoughts. Often through writing we draw a window with words through which the world can look in, or out, in the hopes of catching a glimpse of humanity. But that is a frighteningly troublesome endeavor, for once the window is drawn people are able to see you not only for who you are, but for who you are not. You might find out that your thoughts might not be worth sharing. There is the possibility your carefully crafted thought might be misunderstood. There is also the possibility that it may be perfectly understood but is quite simply... wrong. In short, writing takes courage.

Thomas Merton writes,

If a writer is so cautions that he never writes anything that cannot be criticized, he will never write anything that can be read. If you want to help other people you have got to make up your mind to write things that some people condemn.

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