For a time I struggled with the question of why I should write in the first place. Why do human beings write and paint and sculpt and make art in the sense of fine art? According to a common sense understanding fine art is about manufacturing beautiful things, but that understanding doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Why does a painter paint a sunset when we can just look at a sunset? Why paint a tree when there are trees everywhere? There's no shortage of beautiful things in the world. Artists add nothing to the beauty of the world. What the artist provides is perspective. The artist teaches us to pay attention and to see things anew. The artist teaches us to stop and appreciate what is there to be seen and heard.
What I'm saying probably isn't news to you, but the best advice I can give to people who want to get better at writing is to practice seeing what's there to be seen. Really study and learn to pay attention. I go for walks everyday, and I get dangerously caught up in my imagination when I walk. For a long time I didn't hear the Blue Jays calling and the American Robins singing all around me. I'm Canadian -- a maple leaf is on our flag -- but I rarely stopped to appreciate how beautiful a maple tree really is. We don't make art to generate an abundance of beautiful things, we make art to appreciate the abundance of beauty which already exists.
I love this, Sean. We’re surrounded by beauty every day, but it often takes a moment of stillness to really see it. In India, everything feels so alive—the colors, the sounds, the smells—and yet it’s easy to just rush through it all without truly appreciating what’s around us. Like you said, it’s not about creating more beauty, it’s about teaching us to notice the beauty that’s already here!
It is a daunting task, Mohika, and many a time, cumbersome too, but it is not about thousand words a day, it is all about your story weaving mind. Once you let loose your imagination wander in different directions of your fascination, the ideas start pouring in as a heavy downpour and what is only needed is to pick up one of your choice and you will realize that thousand words are not adequate to cover that aspect.
I am sharing it with my own experience and others may have different ones, but the best part is that you have already crossed that barrier. And a greater bit will soon take place after you become a published author who writes everything that makes sense and leave the readers with thoughts galore. 😊😊
Like training to run a marathon, writing 1,000 words a day takes a lot of discipline to start, but gets easier the more you accomplish. Congrats on starting!
Hey there, Mohika! Writing like this every day is not as easy as it seems. You tackled your assignment well! This was fun! A challenging endeavor to go a thousand words of thought and you conquered it. Enjoyed the read! ~Wendy💜
I absolutely love this. I admire the courage it must've taken to post a stream of consciousness piece like this... It inspires me to try the same. Maybe I will :)
I've been getting a tad too perfectionistic with my writing soo...
I also really like how you described the door :0 The untold writing and stories beckons to be uncovered indeed
I feeeel you on all levels! Gotta publish before the mind monitors everything we do. I mean, that's not to say "don't edit" or "don't proof-read" but more so to let that be a task to be fulfilled and to already know that whatever you're writing is going to be well-received, even if by one person (you) or one person across the globe.
this is the most vibrant free form writing i've seen in a while omg! loveee your descriptions; the typing, the rain, the books, the door. the cover image is so fitting, this definitely reads like a colorful and nurtured garden!!
Oh wow! I stumbled upon your note while scrolling substack and not through my notifications!! Thank you so much for the feedback, Don! This was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy out of my comfort zone but I’m trying to build a habit of being honest + cultivating the discipline of writing daily. What better space to play than Substack?
I love how you write! Very descriptive and I love your details! I am writing this on my (sometimes cooperative) Chromebook, reclining in a recliner, my legs are up and I am wearing compression boots for about one hour. (lympho press). My kitty was sleeping with me but he jumped across the end table to my son's recliner and curled up and is sleeping! It's been pretty chilly here lately. It's about 59 now at 5:45 a.m.! Well, I guess I'll see you later. I am getting hungry but I'll have to wait until my hour is up before I can get up from this recliner. The lympho press is plugged in and the boots inflate. As soon as they deflate, I can get up. See you later Alligator, in a while Crocodile!
Your message made me smile! I could just picture you all comfy in your recliner, legs up, boots on, and kitty keeping you company—at least for a while before deciding to switch spots, haha! Isn't it funny how they always pick the coziest places? 59 degrees sounds pretty chilly for this time of year! I hope you've got a warm blanket nearby. I bet you're counting down the minutes until the boots deflate and you can grab something to eat—nothing like tasting freedom after being all strapped in! See you later, Alligator! Stay cozy and warm until then. 🐊
My kitty is in the window watching something! I ate a blueberry muffin and drank some coffee but I'm still hungry! I'll have to look for something else to eat! Later crocodile!
That's really sweet! I don't know why I decided Wednesday as my post days of all days!!! Now that I think about it, it's probably because I really feel the blues on monday, tuesday's sits real close to monday. Then thursday is mostly organization and prep for my business, and fridays feel tooooooooooo late in the week, and really quite inviting. Saturday Sundays are split between my business and family. So really wednesday became the day to post on here! I think I like this routine too!
For a time I struggled with the question of why I should write in the first place. Why do human beings write and paint and sculpt and make art in the sense of fine art? According to a common sense understanding fine art is about manufacturing beautiful things, but that understanding doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Why does a painter paint a sunset when we can just look at a sunset? Why paint a tree when there are trees everywhere? There's no shortage of beautiful things in the world. Artists add nothing to the beauty of the world. What the artist provides is perspective. The artist teaches us to pay attention and to see things anew. The artist teaches us to stop and appreciate what is there to be seen and heard.
What I'm saying probably isn't news to you, but the best advice I can give to people who want to get better at writing is to practice seeing what's there to be seen. Really study and learn to pay attention. I go for walks everyday, and I get dangerously caught up in my imagination when I walk. For a long time I didn't hear the Blue Jays calling and the American Robins singing all around me. I'm Canadian -- a maple leaf is on our flag -- but I rarely stopped to appreciate how beautiful a maple tree really is. We don't make art to generate an abundance of beautiful things, we make art to appreciate the abundance of beauty which already exists.
I love this, Sean. We’re surrounded by beauty every day, but it often takes a moment of stillness to really see it. In India, everything feels so alive—the colors, the sounds, the smells—and yet it’s easy to just rush through it all without truly appreciating what’s around us. Like you said, it’s not about creating more beauty, it’s about teaching us to notice the beauty that’s already here!
It is a daunting task, Mohika, and many a time, cumbersome too, but it is not about thousand words a day, it is all about your story weaving mind. Once you let loose your imagination wander in different directions of your fascination, the ideas start pouring in as a heavy downpour and what is only needed is to pick up one of your choice and you will realize that thousand words are not adequate to cover that aspect.
I am sharing it with my own experience and others may have different ones, but the best part is that you have already crossed that barrier. And a greater bit will soon take place after you become a published author who writes everything that makes sense and leave the readers with thoughts galore. 😊😊
Like training to run a marathon, writing 1,000 words a day takes a lot of discipline to start, but gets easier the more you accomplish. Congrats on starting!
Thank you. I fell off the wagon and got back on it 💟
Peace and love ❤️
Hey there, Mohika! Writing like this every day is not as easy as it seems. You tackled your assignment well! This was fun! A challenging endeavor to go a thousand words of thought and you conquered it. Enjoyed the read! ~Wendy💜
Thanks dear Wendy! It was harder than I thought, but I hope it gets easier as I continue to practice!!
I absolutely love this. I admire the courage it must've taken to post a stream of consciousness piece like this... It inspires me to try the same. Maybe I will :)
I've been getting a tad too perfectionistic with my writing soo...
I also really like how you described the door :0 The untold writing and stories beckons to be uncovered indeed
I feeeel you on all levels! Gotta publish before the mind monitors everything we do. I mean, that's not to say "don't edit" or "don't proof-read" but more so to let that be a task to be fulfilled and to already know that whatever you're writing is going to be well-received, even if by one person (you) or one person across the globe.
this is the most vibrant free form writing i've seen in a while omg! loveee your descriptions; the typing, the rain, the books, the door. the cover image is so fitting, this definitely reads like a colorful and nurtured garden!!
Aaaaa hehehehe i'm giggling at my screen reading your comment. Thank you so much! I will continue to write and publish long-form more!
What a fun piece, Mohika. You entrapped and entranced me! Well done. 🙏💚
Oh wow! I stumbled upon your note while scrolling substack and not through my notifications!! Thank you so much for the feedback, Don! This was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy out of my comfort zone but I’m trying to build a habit of being honest + cultivating the discipline of writing daily. What better space to play than Substack?
I love how you write! Very descriptive and I love your details! I am writing this on my (sometimes cooperative) Chromebook, reclining in a recliner, my legs are up and I am wearing compression boots for about one hour. (lympho press). My kitty was sleeping with me but he jumped across the end table to my son's recliner and curled up and is sleeping! It's been pretty chilly here lately. It's about 59 now at 5:45 a.m.! Well, I guess I'll see you later. I am getting hungry but I'll have to wait until my hour is up before I can get up from this recliner. The lympho press is plugged in and the boots inflate. As soon as they deflate, I can get up. See you later Alligator, in a while Crocodile!
Your message made me smile! I could just picture you all comfy in your recliner, legs up, boots on, and kitty keeping you company—at least for a while before deciding to switch spots, haha! Isn't it funny how they always pick the coziest places? 59 degrees sounds pretty chilly for this time of year! I hope you've got a warm blanket nearby. I bet you're counting down the minutes until the boots deflate and you can grab something to eat—nothing like tasting freedom after being all strapped in! See you later, Alligator! Stay cozy and warm until then. 🐊
My kitty is in the window watching something! I ate a blueberry muffin and drank some coffee but I'm still hungry! I'll have to look for something else to eat! Later crocodile!
A journey into the imagination behind a magical door was just what I needed this morning. Keep writing lots and lots of words!
hehehe yes now I'm rolllllinggg and you get to come along!!
Always a pleasure to read your thoughts on a Wednesday. I like this routine now :)
That's really sweet! I don't know why I decided Wednesday as my post days of all days!!! Now that I think about it, it's probably because I really feel the blues on monday, tuesday's sits real close to monday. Then thursday is mostly organization and prep for my business, and fridays feel tooooooooooo late in the week, and really quite inviting. Saturday Sundays are split between my business and family. So really wednesday became the day to post on here! I think I like this routine too!
That's one hell of a thought behind when to share your thoughts. Looking forward to the next one.
I love that you’re a dry sponge waiting to get wet and that you love moss under your feet.
I love that from every sentence in my essay, you chose this one!!!!! you're a nature fairyyy! more than anything, I love you!