Writing Takes Effort

I had some great coffee with my mum this weekend. At a favourite spot in Sarasota called Perq Coffee Bar. As I sipped on my flat white, I said something out of the depths of my heart that kind of came out without me even thinking about it.
"Write that down", my mum said. Mum knows best.

So, I wrote it down in my journal:
Writing takes effort, but it is time spent that I never regret. I have never heard anyone regret taking time to write out their thoughts.

We talked about writing in journals, and I mused on the fact that even people who don't like to write regularly are always thankful when they take some time to write out their prayers, their lists, their thoughts, their memories. I am one who always encourages others to write in journals. I buy them journals and give them ideas (I will even say that if typing their thoughts on the computer works better, then that's okay too!). Never do they say to me, "That was a waste of time and I wish I hadn't written that."

No, it's more of the opposite- "I am so glad I wrote it all down. It felt good to get it out. Then later, I read some writing I had done a few weeks ago and saw how a prayer was answered!"

That is what writing does. It reveals to us our own selves. We forget sometimes. The good things that happen. The challenges we get through. The prayers we say. The memories from travel. Some particularly encouraging words from someone. We forget these things, unless we write them down.

The best things in life take effort, right? Friendships, marriage, performing a job the right way, growing a garden, knitting a scarf, learning, travelling. If we didn't have to put forth an effort, it wouldn't seem like anything very important. It would just come to us. A friend would just be there but no stories would be a part of their journey. We wouldn't have the chance to grow if things were just handed to us like that.

Yes, writing takes effort, even for me at times, as one who loves writing. Sometimes, when I am tired and I feel like I have nothing to write, I just start writing, and it comes out. Thoughts hidden away that I didn't know were there, just waiting to be set free. Lines emerge from the depths of my soul and words form so quickly that my hand cannot keep up. And when I close my journal I catch myself thinking how glad I was to make myself write, even when I felt like I had nothing to write. Four pages in my journal say otherwise.