The French novelist Gustave Flaubert said, " the art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe. " When I began this blogging I hadn't heard that. I just stumbled upon that quote the other day. My first reaction was, yes, I agree with that thought. Writing your thoughts down you do discover what you believe, as long as you are honest in your writing. I have found that being honest in your writing, in what you believe, can also be controversial. I've encountered that a few times. It is a surprise at times. When surprised my normal course of action is to retreat just a little and think about what I said. Then I decide whether to continue in that thought. I have found I seldom change my way of thinking, my beliefs are fairly well imbedded. I would guess that has something to do with my age. I prefer to think of it as experience.
Writing can become an uncomfortable experience. The reason for that is obvious. When you expose your beliefs to the light of day they can surprise you. I have had that happen on more than one occasion. Fortunately I haven't discovered anything that was a real shocker ! What I mean is I still have confidence in my core beliefs, that they are correct. It is the little things I have learned along the way that causes me to pause every now and again. No examples come to mind and that is a good thing. The changes I have made have been subtle ones. But I would also say the things that I changed weren't embedded either. We all carry a load of loose beliefs and only in strife do we find out what we really want to hold onto. The baggage we discard was the stuff we didn't need in the first place. Why did we pick that stuff up ? We were given that by our parents and peers. Then we chose to adopt it. But like Gustave pointed out, when we write it down, we do discover what we believe.
Whenever something is put into writing it takes on a permanence that can be unsettling. You can't take those words back. It is true that what you write can be misunderstood, taken out of context and used against you. I also believe that whatever you write, if written honestly, exposes your true beliefs. Then we may feel compelled to defend that belief. The problem lies in the proof. Can you prove a belief ? Depends upon what you are talking about doesn't it. The same author that said, " the art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe" also said, " there is no truth, there is only perception. " I understand exactly what he is saying there. My truth is not always your truth. Neither one of us can provide " proof " sufficient to shake the others belief.
I have begun writing. I have also begun discovering some things about myself. The social pressure I feel, and I would say, we all feel is that we should change. It is somehow wrong to not change your belief when presented with another idea. To stand your ground will get you labeled as stubborn, obstinate or worse. You may even get yourself labeled as closed minded. This is especially true if you believe in God. Doesn't matter what God it is either. That is because you can't prove or disprove the existence of God. It is a belief ! We are all pressured to think that if we don't change our ways, we are wrong.
Only through change can things be made better. Is that a true statement ? Only through change can your reality be changed is the more correct statement. When your perception is altered, change occurs. That is the goal of any writer, to change the readers perception. That is not to say the goal of a writer is change your reality, only change your perception, if only for a short time. When reading a good book that is the journey, isn't it ? You are transported to a different time and place, your perception altered. You begin to view things through the eye of the author, cleverly disguised as the main character in the book. Well at least that is the case in a novel. What I'm writing is not a novel however. What I am writing is my perception of the world, that will be my book. My beliefs will be exposed. The challenge I face is presenting those beliefs in an entertaining fashion. Doesn't make much sense to write something if you don't want people to read it is my thinking. My main goal is to let my descendants know who I was. I don't want to be forgotten. It's certain I will leave one day. As I like to say, as long as your name is spoken you are not gone. I'm hoping to leave something that folks can talk about ! Mark Twain said, " many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. " Now that is something that I believe is the truth. See a lot of that every day.
Writing can become an uncomfortable experience. The reason for that is obvious. When you expose your beliefs to the light of day they can surprise you. I have had that happen on more than one occasion. Fortunately I haven't discovered anything that was a real shocker ! What I mean is I still have confidence in my core beliefs, that they are correct. It is the little things I have learned along the way that causes me to pause every now and again. No examples come to mind and that is a good thing. The changes I have made have been subtle ones. But I would also say the things that I changed weren't embedded either. We all carry a load of loose beliefs and only in strife do we find out what we really want to hold onto. The baggage we discard was the stuff we didn't need in the first place. Why did we pick that stuff up ? We were given that by our parents and peers. Then we chose to adopt it. But like Gustave pointed out, when we write it down, we do discover what we believe.
Whenever something is put into writing it takes on a permanence that can be unsettling. You can't take those words back. It is true that what you write can be misunderstood, taken out of context and used against you. I also believe that whatever you write, if written honestly, exposes your true beliefs. Then we may feel compelled to defend that belief. The problem lies in the proof. Can you prove a belief ? Depends upon what you are talking about doesn't it. The same author that said, " the art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe" also said, " there is no truth, there is only perception. " I understand exactly what he is saying there. My truth is not always your truth. Neither one of us can provide " proof " sufficient to shake the others belief.
I have begun writing. I have also begun discovering some things about myself. The social pressure I feel, and I would say, we all feel is that we should change. It is somehow wrong to not change your belief when presented with another idea. To stand your ground will get you labeled as stubborn, obstinate or worse. You may even get yourself labeled as closed minded. This is especially true if you believe in God. Doesn't matter what God it is either. That is because you can't prove or disprove the existence of God. It is a belief ! We are all pressured to think that if we don't change our ways, we are wrong.
Only through change can things be made better. Is that a true statement ? Only through change can your reality be changed is the more correct statement. When your perception is altered, change occurs. That is the goal of any writer, to change the readers perception. That is not to say the goal of a writer is change your reality, only change your perception, if only for a short time. When reading a good book that is the journey, isn't it ? You are transported to a different time and place, your perception altered. You begin to view things through the eye of the author, cleverly disguised as the main character in the book. Well at least that is the case in a novel. What I'm writing is not a novel however. What I am writing is my perception of the world, that will be my book. My beliefs will be exposed. The challenge I face is presenting those beliefs in an entertaining fashion. Doesn't make much sense to write something if you don't want people to read it is my thinking. My main goal is to let my descendants know who I was. I don't want to be forgotten. It's certain I will leave one day. As I like to say, as long as your name is spoken you are not gone. I'm hoping to leave something that folks can talk about ! Mark Twain said, " many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. " Now that is something that I believe is the truth. See a lot of that every day.
No comments:
Post a Comment