The Joy of Writing

Think, feel and write

The daily demands on us leaves very little time for creative solitude. I long for quiet interludes to spend some time writing. For me, writing quenches a deep thirst leaving a refreshing feeling of fulfilment.

I just put down the book 'On the Move' by Dr Oliver Sacks. He was a voracious writer, writing journals and books all through his long life. In this book Dr Sacks captures what writing means to him which resonates entirely with my own feelings.

"For the most part, I rarely look at the journals I have kept for the greater part of a lifetime. The act of writing is itself enough; it serves to clarify my thoughts and feelings. The act of writing is an integral part of my mental life; ideas emerge, are shaped, in the act of writing.  

My journals are not written for others, nor do I usually look at them myself, but they are a special, indispensable form of talking to myself.

..The act of writing.. gives me a pleasure,  a joy, unlike any other. It takes me to another place ...where I am totally absorbed and oblivious to distracting thoughts, worries, preoccupations, or indeed the passage of time. In those rare, heavenly states of mind, I may write nonstop until I can no longer see the paper. Only then do I realize that evening has come and that I have been writing all day.

Religion, a personal communion

A personal communion with the universe in solitude is the only religion one needs. No middlemen, no preset place or time, no mindless rituals or elaborate accessories.

Just a humbling feeling of awe and an intense feeling of oneness with the universe ..

As if honey could taste itself and all its drops together and all its drops could taste each other and each the whole honeycomb as itself, so should the end be with God and the soul of man and the universe. - Sri Aurobindo

Bon Echo: Give me solitude-give me Nature ..

Mazinaw Rock at Bon Echo

A year or two ago, I overheard one of the painters in my class talking about painting at Bon Echo. I learnt after that several famous Canadian artists were inspired to paint the breathtaking scenes of the Mazinaw Rock and lake. Ever since I've been drawn to this place.

The beauty and serenity of this place has attracted nature lovers, poets, artists and philosophers for eons. To the aboriginal people, the Mazinaw rock holds deep spiritual significance. For me the place is special because of its long history, its connection to poet Walt Whitman and the high ideals of the people who sought and found inspiration here. This year we camped here in the midst of nature .. to renew our souls and as Whitman said... "to grow in the open air, and to eat and sleep with the earth" .

Give me solitude—give me Nature—give me again, O Nature, your primal sanities!  - poet Walt Whitman