When do you write?

Writing is like breathing to me – I do it without thinking. Not because I enjoy it (which I do), but because I need to write to stay alive. For as long as I can remember, the current of thoughts flowing through my mind have spilled over onto paper or screen leaving its sediment as a reminder of what I had been carrying at a given time.

I know I need to write to stay alive because I’ve died before. Yes, my heart maintained its steady rhythm but my soul was nowhere to be found. It had been sucked into the vortex of perceived obligation, desperately crying out to return home. The fact that you are reading this should tell you that I managed to locate my soul, and let me tell you, I far prefer staying alive.

So this week, when a friend of mine asked me “When do you write?”, I was stumped.

I’ve felt the full force of the “life is dynamic” mantra this year, so it’s been harder than ever to create a stable routine. This simple question forced me to reckon with the fact that I don’t make time for the thing that keeps me alive. I’m always writing – whether that’s in my head or on my notes app – but there’s something about intentionally sitting down, shutting the world out and letting the words flow.

I have been forced to question whether I’m really alive or merely breathing, so I’m going to write. Without permission and without any reason. You’ll be seeing a lot more of me here.

When do I write?

When I need to,

I always need to stay alive

So I always need to write.

I’ll see you soon.

Connect the dots…

Love,

ETP

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~ written on the Tube home from work ~