Writing to Save the Day
Why do you write? For publication? Money? Fun? Passion? Many of us answer yes to all of those choices, but beneath it all, writing deeply nurtures our souls. Here’s what Henri Nouwen had to say about it:
“Writing can be a true spiritual discipline. Writing can help us to concentrate, to get in touch with the deeper stirrings of our hearts, to clarify our minds, to process confusing emotions, to reflect on our experiences, to give artistic expression to what we are living, and to store significant events in our memories. Writing can also be good for others who might read what we write.
Quite often a difficult, painful, or frustrating day can be “redeemed” by writing about it. By writing we can claim what we have lived and thus integrate it more fully into our journeys. Then writing can become lifesaving for us and sometimes for others too.”
From the Henri Nouwen Society
Writing Prompts:
1. When was there a time you considered writing your lifesaver? What served as a catalyst for this feeling? Share your emotions through an essay or poem.
2. Write a pro-writing essay. Your goal? Encourage others to write!
3. Often our most emotional experiences offer the deepest writing subjects, as we have lived those moments or can imagine how others may feel. Peruse a photo album from your past. Write an emotionally deep story using a photo as inspiration.
4. When were you embarrassed at the time, but later laughed about your encounter? Humor is based on these moments. Write a story, script, poem, or song on a funny conflict or problem in your life. Revise by reading it aloud for comic timing.
