I seek solace through writing. That is the way it has always been. the fear creeped in when it was classroom journal collection day. The journals were to be graded on their content. the writing prompts were assigned, this is most common within English or ESOL curriculums and mandatory. A grade was given along with brief commentary. but in my truth and in my soul, I always knew I wrote for myself. my initial thoughts swirled in my mind. who would read my journals and resonate with how deep my views were? sometimes I could only bring myself to write a sentence. there is this proven method by James pennebaker where a timer is set to 20 minutes and pen is brought to paper until the timer sounds. what a therapeutic piece of bliss that is once completed.
I am now writing this blog piece because I stopped short on the third page of reading a novel of a series yet to be completed. I will paraphrase the sentence that stopped me cold in my tracks and brought forth emotions and clarity. Page three of the Novel Watermark authored by Elise Schiller states the following “People can become used to anything and that becomes their normal.” it is not the exact line but close enough that I will be sure to edit this paragraph once I complete Watermark. The photo I chose for this blog piece sums up why I am writing late into the night. Where and when can solace be found in the midst of instability and chaos? if chaos becomes the norm for an individual are they holding up well? or do they merely become numb to the life events surrounding their fleeting existence? those are the philosophical depths I dived into after a recent conversation with a friend.
Everyone has their own stories to tell coupled with their own problems, but when a friend asked how I was, I was centered by my solace. my solace that is writing. when words are placed on paper the pages cannot form a response, be it judgmental or nonjudgmental. Silence is where I find my solace. this world is too loud on the daily. our souls get exhausted and depleted of dreams and visions and optimism. but it is my belief that it is the soul that centers me in my own field of gratitude, love, and all that I dream to become a reality.
The present moment is all we are guaranteed but what happens when that present moment in our life’s journey goes into the fight, flight, or freeze response. Life altering sounds so cliché but I will write the sentence. what if I missed a calling somewhere along my path because the world screamed too loudly around me and circumstances beyond my control guided me along simply by placing one foot in front of the other on the daily?
Maybe. that’s a crossroads word. maybe it’s not too late to write my story, maybe it’s not too late to take a detour. maybe I’m open to the unknown after all. Maybe I should just go read the Novel Watermark right now and censor the thoughts that are soul driven and crying out to me. However my writing journey turns out, writing is indeed solace for my weary soul. and as the saying goes there is no rest for the weary. writing is where I put my thoughts away so I can release the thoughts and not be chained to the thoughts any longer. There is power within words. There is a fire in the soul that dims and burns bright again through this journey known as life. Listen to your soul and seek solace. I know I am.