0070: On #Writing, Making Noise, and the Scent of Nutmeg
@CletisStump #literacy #revolution
I was told once that we (the Royal We I suppose) write to know what we think. Over time I’ve found this to be true. But, beyond that I’ve found that what I think is inconsistent. Not terribly inconsistent, just inconsistent enough to make me unsure of what exactly is going on within this old noggin of mine. I wonder if I am adding value to a body of written work or culture, or if I am simply making a lot of noise. And beyond that still I understand that I am, in fact, doing both simultaneously. The noise I make may do nothing more than rattle something out of or into my own consciousness. That helps me understand writing as a revolutionary meaning. Revolution involves change; change often, perhaps always, begins within oneself. The change that occurs within oneself as a result of writing surely better informs one of how to better live in a world, or of how to better affect that world. Sometimes the writing is lovely, a story to a friend. Other times it’s a quarrel within one’s own head, my own head. That is perhaps poetry. Writing is a necessary result of actively living within the world; that is, we write to interpret our own experiences for others (our future selves included) to share in those experiences. It is a result of reading or partaking in the experiences of others. It is baffling and beautiful. Thank you, whoever you may be, for joining in my quarrels.
Finally, the scent of nutmeg that inspired this strand of writing is inexplicable. I caught a whiff and my mind bounded away in a lovely direction. And it’s good if you sprinkle it on your milk, and if you put a bit of scotch in that milk. Cheers friend.
