Journal Entry (Wednesday December 21, 2022)
Why I write. I suppose the best answer to that question (I realize that’s not really a question, rather an imperative) is because it makes me feel good. It is a form of therapy I suppose (1). Little doubt really. It settles me, grounds me, whatever that means. I enjoy it and it gives me peace. I’ve been doing it now on a daily basis for over four years (2). I rarely miss a day. That’s really saying something I think. I would like to be able to tell you one earth-shattering thing that would convince you (and me) that it has changed me dramatically, but I can’t. It has changed me and it hasn’t. I’m still the same person I always was, just a bit better in some subtle ways. A bit more self-aware, a bit more willing to be just a bit nicer, occasionally. More content, and maybe (although there is no strong evidence for this point) a better writer (3)(4)(5). One other thing, I don’t spend as much time watching NFL Football as I did before I started writing…
(1) That is exactly when I started writing. My therapist (she called herself a counselor because she wasn’t licensed as a therapist strictly speaking) told me to start writing and to read what I wrote when I came in for our visits. I discovered from that experience there was more going on inside of me than I realized.
(2) Rest assured I spare you most of what I produce, and that is a good thing.
(3) You should see the crap I used to write.
(4) I have taken quite a shine to using footnotes. I think it’s a great way to append after-thoughts that you are too lazy to go back and find a way to incorporate into the main text…
(5) I’ll try not to do this too often…