The great American poet and literary genius Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” This quote has always been close to my heart because I know what it feels like to carry an untold story inside. I know the pure agony of wishing, and wanting, and waiting for the story to be told.
Writing may be one of the most overlooked artistic mediums, but it’s just as artistic as the stroke of a painter’s brush or the frappe of a ballerina’s foot. It requires patience and honesty, it requires you to dig deep and ask questions and see what emerges. It requires you to have a muse and feel the spark of creativity inside your chest.
I was the writer who had left so much unwritten. After years of half finished novels, poems gathering dust, and blog posts contemplating the thoughts of a writer who was just too scared to write, I finally took a good hard look at myself and sat down to write my soul’s story. What emerged was raw and real and beautiful. I knew theses were the words my soul needed me to hear. I listened and cried and wrote and wrote until there were no more words.
I believe writing is soothing to the soul. I believe our words can help us heal and I believe that sometimes your journal can be your very best friend. If you’ve been thinking about writing but have been hesitant to pick up the pen, here are five reasons to write your soul’s story:
1. Because You Can’t Run From Yourself
If there is a story that wants to be told you can run but you can’t hide. Your untold story will follow you everywhere you go. Each of us has a story deep down that we wish we could share with the world. Or perhaps it is a story that is not so pretty. Perhaps it is a story of pain or guilt or shame. Even if no one ever reads the story, it must be written, simply to remove it from sitting on your chest. Write it. Don’t run from it.
2. Because You Deserve Healing
There is a reason why so many therapists, counselors, and psychologists advocate writing in a journal as a form of healing. Writing is such a beautiful form of release. Julia Cameron in the book “The Artist’s Way” suggests that every morning you write three free-form pages to just let out all the thoughts that are in your head. What if you were to write every day – in whatever way, shape, or form you feel like – in order to just tune in with your own healing? What would that feel like? Give it a try!
3. Because Your Words Can Heal Others
When I released my first self-published book I was nervous and shy about how it would be received. After all, when I wrote the collaborative book along with thirteen other women, I wasn’t really writing for anyone else I was really just writing for me. But as soon as the book came out, I started receiving messages of thanks. People from far and wide were thanking me for releasing a book about loving yourself. When you share your words with others you give them the space to share as well. Writing a book and sharing your words is such a great part of being of service to the world. It will make your soul happy.
4. Because Feeling is Freeing
For years I lived with the “keep a stiff upper lip” mentality. I hated crying in front of people because I thought it made me seem weak. I didn’t think anything of this behavior until one day in a therapy session with my counselor. He asked why I kept so much inside and why I thought being emotional was a sign of being weak. Coming to terms with this was a huge break through for me. It was a behavior pattern I didn’t even realize was causing me harm. I have since embraced fully what it means to feel and to express myself. Feeling is freeing! Writing is a great tool to free the emotions you’ve let sit inside of you.
5. Because You Can
At any given time you can pick up a pen or grab your laptop or even just sit with your phone and write something down. If you have the ability to write, you should write! Sometimes I think about all the people who cannot communicate or express themselves. It must be such a challenge. When I look down at my six-month-old daughter, I realize how much she wants to say to me but she just can’t put together the words. Imagine being given a gift and then letting it sit and gather dust in your closet, never to be seen. That’s how it is when you have the ability to write but you don’t use it.
You don’t have to be an author to be a writer. You don’t have to have a certificate or hold some important degree. To be a writer you just have to write. So if you have the chance, please write the story that needs to be told. Your soul deserves it.