In addition to the birthday of a beloved cousin, today happens to be called “I love to write day“, an initiative of Delaware-based author John Riddle in 2002 (https://bit.ly/3O7Vayk). Thankfully, some love to write and are great at it. So, we can enjoy diving in, travelling through, and learning from all the great books of the world!
However, make no mistake. This day is not about any specific writing like a novel, school assignment, a dissertation, a sermon, and/or a speech. It is meant to be writing for the love of writing, for people of all ages. Writing an email, a greeting card, a love letter, a song, a poem, maybe a grocery list, or anything really. Just writing for the pleasure of writing. This means that down the road, there would be someone reading or listening to the above. Didn’t Molière sarcastically yet elegantly say:
“L’écriture ressemble à la prostitution. D’abord on écrit pour l’amour de la chose, puis pour quelques amis, et à la fin, pour de l’argent” [“Writing resembles prostitution. First one writes for the love of it, then for some friends, and finally for money”].
Of course, there are incredibly smart people in life who do not write or read. Yet, they made a successful living in being skilled at something and with a mindset of an entrepreneur. There are also people who do not enjoy reading in life or find it hard to communicate with others.
Sadly, for all sorts of reasons and contexts, there will always be a few people who would write to harm others without any principle or compassion in their hearts. Yet, there are many more others who make the whole difference by writing with their moral compass in mind; their hearts and souls are not too far behind. Perhaps most importantly, some write in ways to elevate the debate and educate.
Last but not least, some people read or write in one language only, mastering it well. Others write in more than one. They may at times have the impression that they lack words to express themselves. Their brains may even confuse languages when tired, sleepy, jet lagged, or just being silly; a deer may be speaking for herself now :).
Without much philosophy about writing, Bambi will stop here and end this post on a musical note with songs about writing. You may know some of them. Bambi hopes you will enjoy them!
