Why should I? Because you can!
Why should I spend my nights and weekends working on a story?
Why should I read Strunk and White again?
Why should I write another blog post?
Why should I take the classes to learn Spanish? In writing screenplays? In beekeeping?
Why should I study sentence structure, again?
Why should I?
You probably have your own version of the Why-Should-I's.
Mine sounds something like:
"I've worked so damned hard for so long,
Why should I stretch to try something new?"
Everyone has their own personal version of "Why-Should-I". Truth be told, the "Why Should I's" are and insidious form of resistance.
Our bodies, minds, and spirits want to stay the same. Our bodies strive to stay at the same temperature. Our minds love it when everything is exactly the way we can predict it. Our spirits sing in the presence of simple, consistency.
We don't want to try something new.
We don't want to grow.
We want to stay the same.
Everything else is risky, dangerous, and could lead to physical, social, or psychological death.
So, why should you (fill in the blank)?
Because you can.
You can read. You can write. You have a story that's just waiting to be told.
You can do this.
Your life isn't threatened because you write poetry.
You're not spending two or more hours a day to get water for your family.
The lights are on. Chances are you flushed the toilet today, and the only reason your refrigerator isn't full of food is that you haven't made it to the grocery store this week.
You're even sitting somewhere relatively warm and safe.
You are capable of becoming more. In becoming more, you will get more in your life. As you get more, your life will blossom.
In all this world, so many people do not have the luxury to write stories, to fulfill their personal dream, to grow, to become more.
You have that luxury just waiting for you.
The next time you find yourself staring at your own personal version of "Why Should I's?", just remember - you should because you can.
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This month, I will attempt to share thirty thoughts about writing - one a day for thirty days.
Writing #1 : The difference between fiction and non-fiction
Writing #2 : Writing schedules.
Writing #4 : "You missed a comma" and the Copy Edit Banshees
Writing #5 : Do it now! Write your story. Share it with the world
Writing #6 : How to put down a writer with a smug smile on your face
Writing #7 : Myth about what "Publisher's used to" do
Writing #8 : Want to be a writer? Get fit
Writing #9 : Want live your dream of being a professional author? Stay inspired
Writing #10 : Why we quit Wordpress
Writing #11 : Ah Shit! Something blew up!
Writing #12 : Tools we use (instead of Wordpress)
Writing #14 : Writing is a lonely life
Writing #15 : Best way to rest your day? Take a nap!
Writing #16 : How not to be a lonely writer
Writing #17 : The writer's cloak is woven from threads of shame and humiliation
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