Why I keep writing

First, let me tell you, it is not to get rich. Obviously, that would be nice, but I cannot let it be the ultimate goal. To get by would be just fine. Still, I don't write for that reason. I write for me. For my sake it has to be much more than that.

I write because I can. I write because it is in me. All day my brain is constantly active. Something in there calls out to be busy. When I can't be doing something that distracts me from the ever-active imagination in me, I let it run rampant.

There's all these things that go on. I don't know how or why, but I know what. Whether it makes sense or not. It feels good to do it. There has always been a million little stories rattling around in my head. I'd tell them to myself as I fell asleep or on long walks.

They kept me busy. Most times I was the main character in some ridiculous plot. Often times I would use someone else's story as a base and mentally wander through their world. Elsewise it would be some outlandish scenario at my destination. Of course, I shared these tales with no one.

For some reason I didn't bother to keep a journal. All these crazy tales, this mental history of mine lost to time and age. No longer. Occasionally, I did "throw words at paper" as I call it.

There's a very ruffled, crumpled and unorganized method to how I've kept some of these over the years. Sometimes I run into them when I'm organizing or cleaning my home. Then, I read them, judge them, and put them somewhere else like I did with all the stories in my head.

Since I found Vocal this is where I go to throw words at paper.

Maybe now I should call it "throwing words at Vocal." I am not Vocal famous or anything, but on those days where I log in to see another read or reads I get gleeful. A small tick towards somewhere.

Modern society is built on small bursts of recognition. A single post on your favorite social media can prove to be satisfying in a way most of us don't know how to find in the tangible world. Have you ever been on stage and heard the roar of applause at a speech you gave? How about an entire room full of people laughing at your joke? Maybe, maybe not, but in the vastness of the internet and through infinity of time we can find something similar knowing umpteen people reacted to our idea.

Someone once said something to the effect of "babies cry for it and grown men die for it". Recognition means different things to each of us, but most of us can agree. It feels great to be noticed for something you did right. Especially, if it is something that brought you joy in the making or that you may be particularly proud of.

Even without these happy hormone inducing bits of feedback and validation, my words empower me. Each time I form a coherent thought and actually take the initiative to put it down somewhere, I improve.

Most of us think success is a gradually rising incline, but those of us that have worked the hardest know that the image above is much more realistic. At times you are moving up, up, and away into a realm of what feels like perfection, but some roadblock jumps out in front of you, you miss some crucial detail or overshoot your goal only to miss wildly.

The thing to keep in mind is that the chart only ends where you do. If the first time you fall down, you stop, then you will never make it where you want to go.

Where I want to go is to the best version of myself. Our words have power. I keep writing them down because with each one of them, mine increases. With each stroke of the pen, each click on the keyboard, and each heartbeat poured into and from my imagination I climb the chart of my life.

Most of us with an imagination are told to get our "head out of the clouds" and come back down to the mundane life the world has built for us. Screw that! I write because my head works best in the clouds, not in the mundane world.

If you can relate to this, let me know in the comments or meet me in the clouds.

Good Fortune to You!