LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL or THE ART HOW TO DO WRITE

Today is such a glorious day after the storm of the wind outside and the storms we may all have had at some point in our lives. Sitting here this lazy morning I have taken time to indulge in a fantastic cup of tea and, as it often happens to me when I have a moment of relaxation like this or when I smoke, thoughts flow through my mind with a different intensity than normal.

It has crossed my mind at some point that life is indeed extremely beautiful, but it is only us humans that tend to complicate it and make it difficult for ourselves as we concentrate on the negative in it. Instead of seeing what we have good in our existence we tend to look for those things that don’t work perfectly. Instead of cherishing what we have received we torture our minds with what we wish we would have had. Instead of acting on the positive we dwell on the negative.

Many of us here try to share their own view on life and in this process many of us sometimes write. But you know what crosses my mind often? Just as we TRY to write , we also TRY to live. We hesitate in writing just as we hesitate in life because we are so damn afraid of failure, of what others may say or think, that we may get paralyzed by this fear. And that is only because of not trusting ourselves completely. My friends, if we don’t trust ourselves, who else will do it? Do we really need someone from the outside to give us confirmations about who we are or what we can do?

It all starts with a step. It all starts with a word. Then comes another step, another breath, another word. It all flows just like life flows. The main thing is to try. If someone would ask me what one must do to become a writer I would say: “Simply live. Just abandon your fears on the side of the road and carry on. Just let the life create your own unique path and let the words gush out of your mind, just as they gush out of your heart. Because if there’s a demon that can reduce our life to numbness and nothing, that demon  is called fear. Dismiss it and you will be free, free to be yourself. Just as free as the little happy mayflies who live short lives but nevertheless enjoy every breeze, every contact and every breath while dancing in the sun.”

Today, regardless of the negative in my life, I live and write. I may take wrong steps or good steps, I may write silly words, wise words, ordinary thoughts, but I refuse to listen to the little devil that whispers poisonous failure. Instead I promise myself that I will live and write, the best I can, the most authentic I can. Shorts stories. Long stories. Sad moments. Poetry. Beautiful moments. Moments alive.

500 words, memyselfandela, October 2013