On the Changes of Writing
"The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor; he took my measurements anew every time he saw me, while all the rest went on with their old measurements and expected me to fit them."
-George Bernard Shaw
It’s interesting how the way I write or what I write continues to change. In grade school, it was very much a diary, pretty factual—this is what the day held and this is how it made me feel. In high school, there was much more poetry, and, yes, even song lyrics. The poems were generally raw and vacillated between being incredibly overt to vague and symbolic. It was all deeply personal. I moved on in college to writing quite frequently in third person. If you happened upon one of my journals, you may have thought I was writing a series of short stories. These actually happened. They were my life and those of you who were a part of it had nicknames. I distinctly remember the pretty boy, the best friend, and the activist. And then I just began to write. it. all. I wrote what happened, how I felt, how I thought others perceived it, how I hurt, what made me happy, what I wanted to do, what I wanted to quit doing, what my waking and sleeping dreams were, who I wanted to be and how I thought I could get there and on and on. I included gratefulness and grief, hopes and rude awakenings. The writing still continues to change. The journals as of late have become deeply contemplative. They are frequently filled with words that others have written—numerous quotes, advice from sages of many cultures and times, thoughts from a variety of topics that pique my interest. I write bits of gratitude, persistent questions, vivid dreams, curious prayers mostly consisting of "You know better...Thy will be done", and subtle whispers that I’m learning to listen to. I record the details of life that I feel like the Divine continues to use to get my attention, to wake me up. I want to take note and not forget these small steps that I am trusting are leading me to Source. I am breathing all the lessons in deeply and breathing out the heaviness and history that I once thought I had to carry. Everything is new. Each moment is new. The writing remains a reflection of change, a reminder of growth, and motivation for deeper discoveries. How have you seen your writing change? How has the way you reflect and record changed?