The Grace of Writing

"When we write about what matters to us most, words will take us places we don't want to go. You begin to see that you will have to say things you don't want to say, that may even be dangerous to say, but are absolutely necessary." - Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace


Last weekend I attended a mindfulness meditation retreat. It was an exquisite forty-eight hours of beauty, good food and blissful silence. Returning home, I avoided the bells, whistles, and traps of life, for at least a day. Now, they are quieting creeping in, and I am applying counterbalance with meditation, gratitude, and other spiritual practices.

Writing is one of these practices. Since the bulk of my writing is non-fiction, hepatitis C stuff, I turn to haiku, poetry, journal-writing, and creative essay in order to reach that deep inner knowing, the place of grace. Grace is when words flow, when truth is so utterly apparent that it can be nothing else.

There are other ways to access these places. Reading is one. Meditation is another. But, I am a writer, and nothing satisfies me as much as pen and paper - not even in this electronic age.