Or: New thoughts are bold and scary. Anne Lamott once said about her father: “Writing taught my father to pay attention; my father in turn taught other people to pay attention and then to write down their thoughts and observations.” Lamott’s father was a writer, and had students that were inmates in San Quenton prison who took part in a creative-writing program. He taught his students and his daughter by example. He asked his students to put a little bit down on paper every day, and to constantly read great books (and poetry).
I know how important math and sciences are and am grateful for the education my child and I have had in our lives. But sometimes I think society has forgotten the fact that creativity in the form of writing and reading has helped us in the past. I wonder if the reason that we don’t encourage others to engage in the simple act of reading is because the people around us begin to change. They expand their thinking because they are more enlightened on a subject and aren’t afraid to discuss it. A subject may change their lives and they may drift away from you because you may not want to follow the thread of this new idea and life in general.
If we don’t read, we don’t want others in our inner circle to change. We are stuck in some reality that actually doesn’t work but if others leave us we feel threatened by them. Reading (and writing) helps us evolve and become who we are today.
Bold stories make us ponder all of the history writers have written about, and philosophize about deep subjects which leads us to become incredible critical thinkers. When young people tell me they don’t like to read, I am saddened to think how much they have missed in their lives. I am saddened to think of all the incredible stories that have been told in the past and are currently being told today. They are missing out on how humans have evolved (and devolved of late) from past understandings of how the world and society as a whole works.
I was really dismayed when I looked at what all of us, especially women, have gone through to be allowed to learn and especially ponder life’s greatest mysteries by asking intelligent questions. Reading and writing have been essential in my life and I hope I have passed on these life-changing thoughts to my child. I hope to pass on the importance of turning off that constant scrolling and pick up a book (or audiobook) to discover life’s mysteries both past and present. Be a brave reader and get curious!
Here’s a kicker from my past: My mother would constantly tell me not to read under the covers with a flashlight late at night because it would ruin my eyes. And when I said I wanted to emulate Madame Curie, who worked through a problem night and day and didn’t even take a bath, she stated, “Well, you have to bathe!” And I muttered under my breath, as all teenagers do, “Wow! That’s what you got out of that?”
And finally, to a quote Emily Dickinson: “Women were not encouraged to read because men feared it would joggle their minds.”
I encourage everyone to read my favorite book on writing of all times to gain perspective on us writers: Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott
I love you all and hope you are having fun creating a magnificent garden in your back yard. Summer is upon us!
Dru Tieben's Writing Corner 