Day 12: The Written Word
There is something so powerful about touching a pen down on paper and simply writing. In such a digital world this simple action is often over looked. Writing words down on paper is a process so incredibly personal and special.
Writing is a process in which we have all engaged in at some point in our lives. For school, for a job, for fun. Whatever the reason, we have all written something. In such a technology saturated time period more often than not we write on a computer or tablet. When was the last time you picked up a pen and wrote on paper? It is an art we have lost sight of in this modern world.
There's something so magical about writing on paper. Something so permanent. With a simple strike of a key we can delete pages of text on a computer. But it takes so much more to erase the written world. Ink spills over the pages and could be there for the rest of eternity. Mistakes are far more obvious and it often challenges us to write first, edit later.
Not only is writing on paper permanent, it is also so incredibly personal. Our handwriting is the visual form of what our voice sounds like. No one else has our handwriting, it is unique and exclusive to us. Because of this we are able to determine who wrote something by knowing what their handwriting looks like.
Handwriting is the physical version of the invisible.
Communicating through the written word can be far more magical than talking over technology. When was the last time you received or wrote a letter? When we write in our own handwriting and send it off to someone else, we are creating such a unique connection. We write down personal thoughts in a permanent way and in turn invite others to do the same. How beautiful it is to exchange written forms of our voice and to express things which can often be easier to express on a page.
When I write my thoughts flow directly from my mind and out of the pen through the ink. Because writing is almost like thinking I allow myself to go far deeper than in any physical conversation or digital page. It can be far easier to communicate something about a difficult thought on paper than out loud.
Writing with a pen and paper is a lost art that holds so much beauty. It communicates so much emotion and character. When we write we paint a blank space with our voice. We make the invisible visible and we do so in such a lasting way.
Now it may seem odd reading about writing with a pen and paper on a digital blog. However, as I am writing these words my hand flows across a page and I watch as black ink fills in each line. There is so much power when you connect pen to page, I encourage you to try it sometime. You may be surprised at what you find.
There is nothing like the written word. Yet it is a power nearly forgotten by the world we live in.
Until Next Time,
Lillian Merritt